Is the American Boating Industry DOA????

[Gofirstclass]

I've long been a reader of several yachting magazines, PMY (Power and Motoryacht) magazine among them, and always enjoy the monthly articles from the editors and publishers of the various mags. They're the top dogs in the magazine industry and have a pretty good handle on what is happening in the boating industry in America and around the world.

The December issue of PMY arrived a couple of days ago and last night I settled down to read through it. In his regular column "Leadline", Editor-In-Chief Captain Richard Thiel said this.....

"A disturbing theme at this year's European shows was the virtual writing off of the U.S. market for 2012 and maybe beyond. Many foreign builders feel our economy and political system are so mucked up that even if we can manage to get things back on track, it'll be a long time before Americans feel secure enough to spend big dollars on big boats."

That doesn't sound very promising for our economy and our political systems.

Your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with his comments? What say you?

Please don't turn this into a bashing of one party or another, or of one politician or another.

GFC

 

[VTSeaRay]

I think the editor pretty much nailed it.

 

[MonacoMike]

Your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with his comments? What say you?

Please don't turn this into a bashing of one party or another, or of one politician or another.

GFC

How can one opine other than to say "so sad" without saying who or what is to blame? Since most of us agree the politicians did this to us for their own power, that is who gets the blame. (We do not always agree which ones) MM

 

[jason78]

I think the Europeans have plenty of their own economic problems to worry about before they start "writing off" the US market for luxury items.

 

[tdschafer]

I agree. The world economy is in the sh!tter right now & I can't see anyone, other than the real rich, feeling secure enough to pony up the big bucks for new non-essentials. Maybe I'm wrong but I certainly don't feel it! All parties are responsible, some more than others.....

 

[D-Sill-D]

Good question, GFC.

I had posted a question regarding what exactly, SR, does sell, (models and numbers) in the "fix our economy" thread. My point was really that this all ties together; economy, jobs, livable wage jobs, and discretionary spending, is needed by many to keep Brunswick in business, I have to imagine.

So if there isn't a "fat and sassy" middle class, can Brunswick survive, selling a few large boats or do they need the "masses" buying those dramatically less expensive "16 to 24" footers?

 

[Mr Salt]

Based upon the number of boat builders that have shut their doors in New Jersey, the industry is either dead or on life support. The export market is keeping Viking alive.

 

[CV-23]

In the last 10 years.....I've seen one new boat out of 54 slips. Hubby & Wife are Elementary school teachers. They spent $45,000 on a 22ft twin engine Jet boat. I'd go used and get a much nicer and larger boat. New is way out of my range for 5 months a year boating, Mike.

 

[Billfletcher]

I was talking about this same subject to a dock mate yesterday. Our marina has mostly 40 to 50 ft slips, and we could only think of one new boat in the entire marina. We used to have a 3 year waiting list to get in, not any more. I believe things will eventually improve. Yes, Europe issues, our debt, etc are out there, but there are some recent postive indicactors. The unemployment rate in CA is dropping, and home prices have mostly stabilized. A large San Diego, high tech company recently announced it is moving its India manufacturing operations back here. Hopefully these positive trends will continue. General spending should rise along with boat sales, but more importantly our kids future can be more secure.

 

[Stray Cat]

I wonder what his definition is of a "big boat and big dollars is"?

 

[ch435]

I agree with an earlier post that Europe has plenty of problems itself. How many times lately has the stock market tumbled because of trouble in Greece for instance? I think the economy is a lot closer to recovery in the US than parts of Europe.

Also, there's never a lot of people who can afford the typical boat in PMY, even in good times. I guess they are saying that even the elite that can afford those boats are affected?

 

[Woody]

I've long been a reader of several yachting magazines, PMY (Power and Motoryacht) magazine among them, and always enjoy the monthly articles from the editors and publishers of the various mags. They're the top dogs in the magazine industry and have a pretty good handle on what is happening in the boating industry in America and around the world.

The December issue of PMY arrived a couple of days ago and last night I settled down to read through it. In his regular column "Leadline", Editor-In-Chief Captain Richard Thiel said this.....

"A disturbing theme at this year's European shows was the virtual writing off of the U.S. market for 2012 and maybe beyond. Many foreign builders feel our economy and political system are so mucked up that even if we can manage to get things back on track, it'll be a long time before Americans feel secure enough to spend big dollars on big boats."

That doesn't sound very promising for our economy and our political systems.

Your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with his comments? What say you?

Please don't turn this into a bashing of one party or another, or of one politician or another.

GFC

I wonder how large a share of the US market was filled by European made boats to start with or am I mis-understanding the comment?

 

[chuck1]

... The unemployment rate in CA is dropping, and home prices have mostly stabilized. A large San Diego, high tech company recently announced it is moving its India manufacturing operations back here. Hopefully these positive trends will continue. General spending should rise along with boat sales, but more importantly our kids future can be more secure.

Bill,
What unemployment rate are you talking about U4 or U6? I wish I could agree with you about the home prices, but they are still declining in the southeast.
Chuck

 

[Carver370]

If they have written off the American builders, why are all these buyers coming from overseas to buy our boats?

 

[chuck1]

If they have written off the American builders, why are all these buyers coming from overseas to buy our boats?

That is an easy one, the dollar is down....
Are they buying new or used?

 

[Pietro]

Europe has plenty of problems, this is the true, but this should be the reason to further exploit the USA market, not to abandon it.
I have one explanation or mine that most of the European boat builders cannot cope with American ones, especially the Italians. For what I see there’s still a huge gap and failing on the North American Market could prove way too expensive for them! This may sound weird, but I do not think European ever succeed in the USA market, a little like the Japanese in the pick-ups.
The mega-yacht market is quite different with the Italians and the North Europeans still launching magnificent vessels.

 

[Carver370]

That is an easy one, the dollar is down....
Are they buying new or used?

All over the board from what I see.