2020 Retail Boat Sales Hit 320k | NMMA

Boatally Awesome

According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association over 320,000 new boats were sold by retailers in 2020. That’s great, but who buys a boat during quarantine in a pandemic?

The NMMA also reports that all powerboat segment sales were up, ranging from 8 to 22 percent. That data comes from its latest New Powerboat Registrations Report.

“New-boat sales continued to be elevated through the latter part of 2020, up 40 percent September through December from 2019, an indication that consumers are snatching up boats as soon as they’re coming off the production line,” director of business intelligence Vicky Yu said in a statement. “This heightened demand for new boats amounted to a record year in sales for the recreational boating industry as Americans sought ways to spend time on the water with their loved ones.”

And the trend continues into this year. States comprising 66% of the U.S. boating market reported that registrations in January were up 17 percent in the main powerboat categories and 23.3 percent year-over-year, according to Soundings Trade Only by Statistical Surveys, a Michigan firm that tracks new registrations.