Wholesale boat shipments and new boat retail sales climb again
New data from the NMMA show wholesale shipments of new boats increased for the third consecutive month in July, doubling compared to June on a seasonally adjusted basis, as boat building production continued to gain momentum across all boat categories.
“Manufacturing has steadily been ramping back up with production at 92% of where it was last year as manufacturers continued filling back orders to meet the surge in demand for new boats,” noted Vicky Yu, NMMA director of business intelligence.
The latest data also show new powerboat retail sales are continuing to climb, up 22% in July on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to the same month a year ago.
“Personal watercraft, outboard boats, and jet boats drove growth in July – both wholesale and retail – reflecting the high demand from new boat buyers,” said Yu.
Highlights from the July Monthly Shipment Report and New Powerboat Registrations dashboard include:
- Wholesale shipments of PWCs were up an unprecedented 271% in July compared to June, on a seasonally adjusted basis; wholesale shipments of outboard boats returned to pre-pandemic levels and were up 7% compared to June; and wholesale shipments of jet boats were up 176% in July compared to June.
- All high volume new powerboat segments through July saw retail sales increases from 5% – 10% for the year.
- Retail sales of cruisers, freshwater fishing boats, pontoons and tow boats have recovered from early pandemic-related losses, and in July reached their highest monthly sales’ totals since 2007.
