How Florida industry won its tax relief fight — P. 11 ‘Worst has passed,’ marine lenders are told — P. 14
January 2009
®
Government spending
The total of this fall’s bailouts
is the largest government
outlay in U.S. history
$4.6165 TRILLION
$217 billion
$237 billion
$500 billion
$597 billion
$851.2 billion
$698 billion
Louisiana
The
New Deal
Race to
the moon
Purchase
Invasion
of Iraq
Vietnam
War
NASA
This fall’s
bailouts
WWW.TRADEONLYTODAY.COM $5.00
Total = $3.1 trillion
Out of pain will come gain
Industry pros forecast a tough 2009, leading to a leaner, stronger boat business
By Beth Rosenberg / Staff Writer
b.rosenberg@tradeonlytoday.com
Iwhen asked to predict what 2009 will look like for the
boating business. Mincing no words, they use terms such
ndustry leaders are taking off the rose-colored glasses
as “challenging,” “tough,” “dismal” and
“crisis” to describe economic condi-
tions going into the new year.
But none is predicting the demise of
the industry, either. Boating, they say,
ings Trade Only is that the industry is likely to begin seeing
improvement by the end of 2009.
Genmar’s Irwin Jacobs says a rebound could begin as early as
the first quarter, but clearly he is in a minority. He bases his op-
timism on the advent of the new administration in Washington,
saying President-elect Barack Obama’s
team is bringing positive change that
will help restore consumer confidence.
The experts agree that while there’s
no question it’s tough out there, there
INSIDE
Survival strategies
The best minds in retailing and boat-
building dispense advice to hard-
pressed dealers at the MRAA’s Las
Vegas convention. Page 16
Exports cool off
OUTLOOK 2009
Pages 23-29
After four years of strong growth,
exports of U.S. marine products are
slowing, thanks to the strengthening
dollar. Page 20
A refuge in repair
Buyers are fewer, but boating still has a great story to tell: family fun and ongoing innovation.
will come back leaner but stronger than ever, thanks to the lessons learned from what the industry experienced in 2008,
some of which was unprecedented. A “perfect storm,” is how
many described it.
But the long-term opportunities for boating are very promising, says National Marine Manufacturers Association president
Thom Dammrich. For example, in the next 40 years, the U.S.
population is projected to grow by 50 percent — to 450 million people, he points out.
“If we can get one-third of these new Americans interested
in boating … it would represent 80 percent more people
boating in the next four decades,” Dammrich says. “We don’t
even need to convert a lot of these potential new boaters into
boat owners to have a significant impact on new-boat sales.”
The consensus of those who shared their views with Sound-
are people buying boats, and financing is available for those
who qualify. Boating has not gone away.
Dealers have to expect higher credit score requirements for
their customers, shrinking loan advances, increasing down
payments and reduced debt-to-income ratio factors, says Jim
Coburn, president of the National Marine Bankers Association.
“Consumer boat loan rates will still remain relatively low
and as appealing as they have been for several years,” says
Coburn. “We expect a modest rate increase sometime in 2010
as the market improves.”
Many talk about the need to provide value-added services
and products, claiming customers simply expect more in
these times. They say innovation is a key to success.
“It takes truly new products that you can’t buy used to get
See Outlook, Page 23
Saunders Yachtworks of Alabama
calls its focus on the yacht service
sector a “buffer” against recession.
Page 30
ADVERTISING SPECIAL
Corporate profiles
HEARD IT HERE FIRST
“We’re building this new facility
after envisioning the yacht of the
future, the yachtsman of the future
and the technology requirements of
the future yacht repair world.”
— Saunders Yachtworks chairman Andrew Saunders Jr.
As we navigate the rapids of these difficult times, our special section will
serve as a resource for business advice,
teamwork and success. Page 31
