Sales are up for 2020 in the United States.

Annual sales statistics for the year 2020 are now available. The motor boat segment ends with an increase in sales of around 12.8% compared to 2019, which is fabulous. The Covid-19 effect is decisive in explaining this sharp increase. People have thought about acquiring a boat to compensate for the confinement measures. Will this trend be as strong in 2021 … Personal watercraft (seadoos) had a good sales volume, in fact, sales were 74,390 units with a volume that increased by + 4.1% compared to 2019.

It is the category which includes aluminum fishing rowboats, fiberglass boats with outboard motors and pontoons that dominate the board not to mention wake boats, there are also bow riders / decks.  Due to the increase in these units sold (qte) that increase annual sales very significantly:

• Aluminum fishing boat with more than 50,094 units sold, + 8.5%
• Pontoon with more than 53,804 units sold, + 18.2%
• Boats with outboard motors with more than 61,710 units sold, + 10.9%
• Wake boats with more than 13,109 units sold, + 19.8%
• Stern drive (bow rider / deck) with more than 10,097 units sold, + 9.8%

Following are additional statistics for other categories of motor boats showing the trends:

• Cruiser (31 to 40 ft) with more than 1,056 units sold, – 3.1%
• Yacht (41 to 65 ft) with more than 772 units sold, + 3.1%
• Semi-custom (66 ft and more) with 145 units sold, -12.1%

The most significant decrease in sales comes from sailboat category with 1,141 units sold but indicating a decrease of more than 22% compared to the year 2019.

Unfortunately, we don’t have statistics for power catamarans which are certainly on the rise.

The industry is doing very well for boats under 30 feet in general and especially with powerful outboards, this trend is very strong. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that boats less than 30 ft are towable which in some cases is an important criteria for boaters.

Boats up to 40 feet with outboard motors are growing in popularity very quickly in the United States.

These are statistics for the sale of new boats and of course the used market is much more active and where the incredible deals are found. In addition, the US-CAD exchange rate which was at 1.43 in March 2020 is now, at the end of January 2021, at 1.27 which ultimately results in a very interesting price for a used boat of any kind.

This is good news, but we can expect boat prices to increase, so important to be vigilant. For dealers, the price of new boats will vary depending on when they placed their orders, exchange rates are important given that new boats are acquired in USD dollars or even in Euros. ItaYachtsCanada brokers are available to verify purchase hypotheses.

Sometimes an almost new boat (1 to 2 years old) can represent more than 15 to 20% of reduction according to the model and its characteristics. And as always, where the supply is plentiful, the prices are lower….

The American market is very large, including the large freshwater sector of the Great Lakes.. Michigan, Erie and Ontario including Lake St-Clair and Georgian Bay (ONT). Then it’s the East coast, from New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Chesapeake Bay (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia) and then the south with the Carolinas (north and south), Georgia and finally Florida.

Texas is also a very good place to shop for boats. Buying a boat on the west coast, Vancouver to San Francisco, requires shipping by boat transportation to Florida but can be done fairly inexpensively and most importantly without hassle. So, in order to achieve an excellent transaction, you must check all your options with an independent broker who works for you, the brokers at ItaYachtsCanada.com are at your service.

The statistics on which this article is based are taken from information obtained from the US COAST GUARD for the vast majority of US states.