Dealers report drop in new boat inventory levels

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – New boat inventory levels for the average dealer tracked by Spader Business Management were down 10 percent this January – from $3,748,782 to $3,371,627 – when compared to the same month last year, the company recently reported.

Used boat inventory, however, was up 22.1 percent to $433,346 in January, Spader reported, resulting in a total inventory decline of 7.3 percent.

The training and consulting firm tracks North American boat dealers, both large and small, to compile an average profile, then compares year-over-year trends in a number of different categories.

New boat sales fell by 12.2 percent in January, when compared to the same month of 2008, to $207,033. However, pre-owned boat sales took a huge jump of 125.6 percent from $40,320 in January of last year to $90,961 this January.

Total dealership sales dropped by 14 percent, when compared to the same month last year. This was due in part to double digit declines in F&I and service revenue. Parts & accessory revenue was actually up slightly for the average Spader dealer, and marina revenue was down only a few percentage points.

Of particular note regarding the average dealer tracked by Spader this January was its total net loss, which improved by more than 25 percent when compared to the same month of 2008. In January 2008, the average dealer showed a net loss of $86,471, or (24.8) percent of sales, compared to the most recent January, when the average dealer showed a net loss of $63,467, or (21.2) percent of sales.

That news comes despite a drop of more than six percentage points in new boat gross margin percentages, compared to the same month last year.

The average units gross margin percentage dropped by 4.1 percentage point to 11.6 percent in January, and the total company gross margin percentage declined by 2.4 percentage points to 31.4 percent.

Total spending was down for these dealers by 23 percent to $153,578 with reductions in all expense categories, Spader concluded.

New boat inventory levels dropped by 2.0 percent from more than $3.432 million in 2007 to more than $3.365 million during the same period of 2008. Used boat inventory rose 5.9 percent to $417,978 in 2008.
 
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