Boat International – August 2019

36.18percent,or 165 boats,are

slatedfordeliverytoUSowners.

Thisnumberhasbeenonasteady

marchupwards,from 140 yachts

in 2018 and 131 in2017.

It’snotjusttheultra-high-net-

worthclientsindulging:acrossthe

entireboatingspectrum,from

freshwater fishingboats and

personalwatercrafttosmaller

motor yachts, the picture is

showingsignsofimprovement.

In2018,newpowerboatsalesin

theUSreachedtheirhighestpoint

in 11 years,upfourpercentfrom

2017,foratotalof280,000units.

Meanwhile,salesofengines,accessoriesand

otherrelatedequipmentrakedin$42billion

in2018,anall-timehigh.

“Salesofnewboatsandboatingexpenditures

havebeenonaconsistentupwardclimbfor

eightyears,withsomesegmentsreaching

pre-recession sales volumes,”says Thom

Dammrich,presidentoftheNationalMarine

ManufacturersAssociation.“Withconsumer

confidencehigh,unemploymentlow,wageson

theriseandinterestratesholdinglevel,we

anticipatetherecreationalboatingmarketto

remainhealthyintheyearahead,withmodest

growthofuptotwopercentinnewpowerboat

unitsalesin2019.”

BobDenisonofDenisonYachtingsaysit’sall

aboutconsumerconfidence.“Alotofsmart

peopletrytotietheyachtingmarkettothingslike

theS&P,housingindexes,unemploymentrates,

etc,andwhiletheseareallimportanteconomic

signals,Idon’tthinkanyofthemreallyinfluence

theAmericanboat-buyingmarketmorethan

theConsumerConfidenceIndex,”hesays.“This

Indexiscurrentlyata15-yearhigh,andittruly

reflectshowcomfortablepeopleareinspending

discretionaryincome.”

AsofMay2019,theConference

BoardreportedtheIndexat134.1,

whichis4.9pointshigherthanthe

129.2levelithitinApril.Thisis

alsobetterthanthepre-recession

highof111.9inJuly2007,and

certainlyanimprovementfrom

theall-timelowofonly25.3from

February2009.Thehighestmark

everrecordedsincetheConsumer

ConfidenceIndexbeganin 1977

was144.7inMay2000.

Consumerconfidencematters

becausetheUSeconomyishighly

consumerdriven.AsofQ12019,

consumerspendingaccountedfor

68 percentoftheUSeconomy,or$14.25trillion.

ConsumerspendingisbakedintoAmerican

culture,saysRobMoran,presidentofMoran

Yacht&Ship.“Americansworkhard,earn

moneyandspendit,”hesays.“TheGermanand

Dutcheconomiesaregoingwell–andsomeof

the best shipyards are there – but the

contradictionisnotmanyGermansorDutch

ownlargeyachtsastheyaremoreconservativein

theirlifestylesand howthey

spendtheirmoney.

“Overthe 31 yearsthat[Moran

Yacht & Ship] has been in

business,we’veseenmanycycles

withdifferentcountriesandareas

oftheworldtakingaprominent

lead,”Moranadds.“Nowithas

reboundedbacktotheStates,just

likeintheearly2000s–back

then,wewere buildingeight

yachtsinEuropeandsixofthose

wereforAmericans.Nowwehave

10 yachtsinbuild,andsevenare

forAmericans.”

UScustomersarealsobuilding

biggerthaneverbefore.The 2017

GlobalOrderBookcounted 15 yachtsover 70

metresinbuildforUSclients.Thatnumbertoday

is21.Inthe50-to70-metrerange,thenumberhas

alsojumped,from 11 hullsto17.“Yearsago, 50

metreswasconsideredahugeyacht,andrightly

so,butnowsomanypeoplearebuildinginexcess

of 64 metres,andthat’smoretherulethanthe

exception,”saysMoran,notingthatthebrokerage

marketatthissizelooksstrongaswell.

Downtherangesthebrokeragepictureis

especiallystrong.In2018, 196 superyachts

between 24 and 40 metreswere

soldtoUSowners,anincreaseof

64 from 132 in2015.

Motorwelloutpacessail in

popularityforUSowners,with 221

motor yachts sold on the

brokeragemarketin 2018 versus

just 18 sailingyachts.Butfarfrom

beingadisappointingfigure, 18 is

morethanthreetimesthenumber

ofsailingboatssoldtoAmerican

ownersin2015.

Simplesupplyanddemandis

alsofuellingthebrokeragesector,

accordingtoJimGilbertfrom

ChristensenShipyards.Thereis

lackofconsistentlygoodinventory

Brokerage sales to US owners, by type

“THERE HAS

BEEN PENT-UP

WEALTH FROM

CONSERVATIVE

INVESTORS WHO

NOW FEEL THEY

HAVE MONEY TO

PLAY WITH”

Bob Denison grew up in

the yachting industry in

Fort Lauderdale, taking

over the management

of his father’s brokerage

company, Denison Yacht

Sales, in 2002

Rob Moran founded

Moran Yacht & Ship in

1988 after working his

way up from deckhand

to captain. He is head

of the global firm that’s

headquartered in Fort

Lauderdale.

Motor

Yachts

Sailing

Yachts

5

169

11

163

11

201

18 3

22165

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

(Jan-April)

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08 2019 boatinternational.com