Boats for sale

Essex, Connecticut - Sixty-eight percent of US and Canadian marine distributors representing sales of over US $500 million say their sales volume increased in 2006 compared to 2005, according to the annual State of the Industry Survey conducted by the National Marine Distributors Association (NMDA).

The 22 NMDA distributor members responding to the association's survey also are strongly optimistic about their sales for the 2007 marine accessories purchasing cycle, officially started at the NMDA Sales, Training, Education & Purchasing (S.T.E.P.) Conference in Las Vegas last month. Seventy-three percent say they expect sales to be up in 2007 compared to 2006.

"While there is some weakness in boat sales and some uncertainties in the economy, clearly marine distributors think there is quite a bit of strength in the accessories market," said NMDA President Mike Medart.

The sales increase most distributors expect in 2007 won't necessarily mean increased sales for marine accessories manufacturers, however. The NMDA survey revealed that only 23 percent of distributors plan to add to their inventory in the current cycle. Sixty-three percent say they'll maintain their current inventory levels while 14% will maintain smaller inventories.

NMDA is the leading trade association for US and Canadian marine products distributors. Members include major distributors, many leading product manufacturers and manufacturers representatives. For more information, visit http://www.nmdaonline.com/ or call 1+860...767.7898.