PWCs, ski boats lead sales increases in May

A peek at Info-Link’s May bellwether report shows a big upswing in PWC sales, a trend that began in January and has been moving up ever since.

May PWC sales for bellwether states grew nearly 20 percent year-over-year, following a 10 percent increase in April.

Keeping up with the PWC market are ski boats and outboard sportfishing boats, as bellwether states saw about a 20 percent increase in ski boat sales in May, and sportfishing boat sales growth was just under 20 percent.

In the 15-foot-plus outboard segment, sales were up just over 10 percent year-over-year, with numbers up slightly from the 10-percent plateau seen from September 2013 to February 2014. Sales of 15-foot-plus powerboats were up about 10 percent for bellwether states.

The stern drive/jet boat segment continues to be down year-over-year, with sales decreasing nearly 10 percent in May. However, the decreases are lessening from a nearly 15 percent drop in late 2013 and early 2014.

Info-Link’s data is based on new U.S. boat registrations. Bellwether states are geographically dispersed states representing roughly half of the US boat market (varies by market segment and time of year). To see full graphs, click here.

By Heather Brown through boatingindustry.com