COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc on Boat Inventories

Boat inventories have been quite low so far in 2021, making the purchasing process difficult to navigate. Thanks to production shutdowns in early 2020 and supply-chain headaches in 2021, paired with booming consumer enthusiasm for outdoor activities, boat manufacturers have been unable to keep up with orders and there are many stories of empty showrooms, backorders into 2022, and prices riding the wave.¹

Price Digests’ Managing Director, Dan Smith, observed this trend firsthand while vacationing in Minnesota over the summer. While visiting two local marinas to source parts for his own boat, Smith noticed the showroom floors were empty. “At the second one I asked what was going on, why they didn’t have any boats, and the parts associate said that the last year and half had been a truly unique experience. With the high demand they had sold their entire new 2021 inventory in the spring. An amount of inventory that would take them at least through summer to sell was gone in about eight weeks. Plus, because the used market is so hot, no one was trading in their used boats, so the showroom was empty.”

With all of this turbulence, having the most accurate and up-to-date values and specifications for the latest boats on the market is essential for our customers. Price Digests data is relied upon for making informed buying, selling, and financing decisions, setting values for tax and insurance premium rates, performing reliable competitive intelligence analyses, and making a variety of other strategic decisions.

Keeping Up with New Model Years and Trends

Our analysts have been busy in 2021, adding more than 2,100 2021 model year boats to the Price Digests database, including more than 1,000 pontoon, deck and houseboats, more than 800 outboards, and nearly 250 stern drives. We are also excited to announce that our upcoming boat update on September 1, 2021 will include:

• Nearly 300 2022 model year boats
• New model specs from top brands, including Chaparral Boats, Formula by Thunderbird, Stingray Boats, and Tracker by Tracker Marine
• Updated values to reflect the booming boat market

The Boat Market Ahead

Price Digests analysts will continue their reviews of retail values, sales data, and market trends to ensure we stay on top of ever-changing industry dynamics. Looking ahead to 2022 model year boats, preliminary analysis has already revealed some brands announcing upwards of 10% increases to their MSRPs. Be sure to check back for upcoming quarterly updates to ensure you are basing your important decisions on the most accurate and up-to-date information possible.

About Price Digests

Since 1911 Price Digests, a division of Informa, has served the vehicle data needs of the insurance, finance, government, and dealer markets through its portfolio of VIN decoding, specifications, and market value data solutions for the commercial truck, passenger vehicle, marine, powersport, and recreational vehicle asset classes. Our data insights help enterprises drive competitive advantage through asset data workflow efficiencies while also playing a pivotal role in decisions surrounding the purchase, valuation, operation, and risk mitigation of assets. Price Digests data is powered by The Truck Blue Book.

Articles Referenced: 

[1] Boat sales took off during the pandemic and now dealers can’t keep up with demand. Retrieved August 19, 2021.