Boat sales growth slows again in September

While boat sales are still up over the last 12 months, the rate of growth slowed for the third month in a row in September, according to the latest Info-Link Bellwether report.

The Bellwether report tracks sales of powerboats across the country based on new U.S. boat registrations on a rolling 12-month basis. Bellwether states are geographically dispersed states representing roughly half of the US boat market (varies by market segment and time of year).

The report showed slowing growth in September, with sales up about 6 percent on a rolling 12-month basis. While sales are still up on a rolling 12-month basis, the rate of growth for the third quarter was lower than the nearly 10 percent rate in June’s report. Sales have been by more than 5 percent on a rolling 12-month basis since mid-2013.

The ski boat category continues to have the strongest growth, with sales up about 12 percent on a rolling 12-month basis.

The sportfish segment rebounded slightly in the latest report, with sales up nearly 10 percent. PWC sales dropped to about 5 percent. It was only the third month since early 2014 that growth for the category was below 10 percent.

Overall, the outboard segment was up about 7 percent, in line with the results of the last several reports. The sterndrive/jet boat segment was up a little more than 1 percent for the period, down slightly from earlier this year.