Future of Boat Sales???

[Ratickle]

Interesting. How accurate in your opinion???

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release freedoniagroup.com

US Demand for Recreational Boating Products
to Exceed $10 Billion in 2016

The US recreational boating industry was decimated by the economic and
housing market downturns that began in 2007, given that boating products are
luxury items and the market depends on consumer spending and access to credit. The
industry suffered its worst contraction in nearly 50 years, with a sharp drop in demand
each year between 2007 and 2010 and a number of bankruptcies among industry
suppliers and dealers.

Following this collapse, the recreational boating industry is
attempting to gauge the “new normal.” This will include determining not only how far
retail boating product demand will recover, but also how much stock boat dealers will
maintain and, even more fundamentally, how many dealers and boatbuilders will
survive. The industry also faces difficulties brought on by demographic factors,
including the aging of the large “baby boom” generation beyond the traditional age for
boat buying and the increasing share of minorities -- traditionally underrepresented
among boat owners -- in the US population. These and other trends are presented in
Recreational Boating, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Clevelandbased
industry market research firm.

In 2011, demand had begun to recover from the depths plumbed in 2010, but in
the short term, the market is unlikely to bounce back as quickly as it has in past
downturns because consumers continue to deleverage and the economic recovery
remains tepid. By 2016, the recreational boating market (including boats, propulsion
systems, and accessories) is expected to rebound, with demand increasing 8.0 percent
annually to $10.1 billion. The market will be driven by gains in consumer spending and
disposable income and the increasing strength of the financial sector. The boating
industry’s efforts to expand the boating market to women and minorities will boost sales
of entry level boats. Growth in the 55-64 age bracket will support demand, since boat purchases
become more likely near the onset of retirement (although they tend to decline shortly
thereafter). Despite the rapid sales growth, the market in 2016 will only be about two
thirds of what it was in 2006, and is not expected to recover to the pre-downturn levels
for the foreseeable future.

Demand for traditional powerboats will see the fastest gains,
rebounding from especially sharp declines beginning in 2008 as credit conditions made
financing expensive boats difficult.



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[Nmbr1GMfan]

I posted in your other thread also, yes this is absolutely what I see happening. My marine customers (manufacturers) are seeing this trend.