Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/750216
40 | Boating Industry | November 2016 www.BoatingIndustry.com /// Market Trends /// (2,250 units) in sterndrive-powered runabouts. Ski and wake boat sales are also growing in the used boat market. NMMA pegs the number of pre-owned ski and wake boats sold in 2015 at 19,000 units, representing a year-over-year gain of 9.8 percent over the 17,300 boats reported sold in 2014. This also marks five years of con- tinued sales growth, with 16,800 pre-owned tow boats reported sold in 2013, 16,600 boats in 2012 and 16,000 boats reported sold in 2011. Although Statistical Surveys Inc. (SSI) mea- sures its data differently, its figures are nearly identical to those of NMMA, showing sales of new tow boats to be up by 10.94 percent in 2016. Sales increases were reported for 17 of the top 20 Basic Trading Areas (BTAs) mea- sured by SSI, with declines reported only in the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Calif., Birmingham, Ala., and Atlanta BTAs. The sharpest decline reported, for San Francisco/ Oakland/San Jose, was a drop of 4.05 percent while the average sales decline between these three BTAs was measured at 3.18 percent. By comparison, the strongest year-over-year sales gain reported was a whopping 47 percent Integrated electronics and sound speakers have made the category attractive to young buyers.