Facing the same challenging market conditions as the domestic
financial, housing and automotive industries, many U.S. boat
manufacturers are struggling to stay afloat. But despite these
challenging economic conditions, overall customer satisfaction and
quality across the new-boat industry is on the rise. According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2009 Boat
Competitive Information Study,SM customer
satisfaction across
the boating industry has increased considerably—up from an index score
of 813 on a 1,000-point scale in 2008 to 830 in 2009. This, in spite of
a nearly 30-percent sales decrease across the industry, and during a
time when consumers are closely scrutinizing their discretionary
spending.
While all boating segments improve in 2009, the express cruiser segment
(up 38 points) and large runabout segment (up 25 points) primarily
drive the overall satisfaction increase. In addition, the average
number of problems new-boat owners experience has declined by 33
problems per 100 (PP100) boats in 2009. “The industry-wide drop in
problems experienced is again driven by considerable improvements in
both the express cruiser and large runabout segments, which, combined,
drive a decline of more than 100 PP100 from the 2008 study,” said Todd
Markusic, senior director of powersports at J.D. Power and Associates.
The study reveals the following boating industry trends in 2009, which
are heavily influenced by the current market situation:
- Many dealers and manufacturers in 2009 are scrutinizing the expense of participating in boat shows. The study reveals that 20 percent of new boats are purchased at a boat show, which demonstrates the value of these events to manufacturers and dealers.
- The median owner-reported price paid for a new boat increased by approximately $1,500 from 2008 to $31,495 in 2009. This marks the smallest price increase in the industry during the past three years.
- The amount of time boat owners are running their engines has decreased steadily, by five hours each year since 2003. In 2009, owners run their engines an average of 59 hours, which is down considerably from 83 hours in 2003.
