New boat sales drop 9% in US as consumer confidence weakens


NMMA’s Monthly Recreational Boating Industry Data Summary, covering the rolling period from May 2024 to April 2025, shows a continued decline in new powerboat retail unit sales across north America.


Sales are down 9 per cent year-to-date (from January to April 2025) compared with the same period in 2024, with 64,883 new boats sold through April, compared to 71,321 the previous year.


The April 2025 data highlights declines across several segments. Year-over-year sales of new pontoons are down 19.5 per cent, jet boats by 19.9 per cent and wake sport boats by 14.3 per cent. Freshwater fishing boats and yachts remain relatively stable, down 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.


Macroeconomic data from April shows mixed conditions. Inflation eased to 2.3 per cent, and fuel prices remained steady at $3.17 per gallon. However, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) stood at 85.7, below the 100-point baseline typically associated with economic optimism. By June, the CCI declined to 100.4


from 101.3 in May, while the Expectations Index dropped to 73.0, well under the 80-point level generally linked to negative outlooks.


South Korean Shipbuilders report strong H1 as orders shift from China


The South Korean shipbuilding industry experienced a strong rebound in orders during the first half of 2025, and especially so in the containership segment. The Korea Development Bank’s overseas economic research institute attributed much of the gains to concerns over the fees the United States plans to impose on Chinese-operated or built shipping.


The report highlights a strong overall increase in orders for the Korean builders, which achieved a 25.1 percent market share for the first six months of the year. This was up from 17.2 percent last year and came despite an overall slowing in shipbuilding orders. The report indicates that this was especially significant, as in 2024, South Korea’s shipbuilding orders were at the lowest levels in eight years. For the full year, South Korea only received 15 percent of the global orders placed in 2024.


Globally, newbuild orders were off in 2025 after the past few years and as economic and trade concerns grow. Orders on a compensated gross tonnage basis were off by 54.5 percent to 19.39 million CGT. While most sectors showed a softness, orders for liquified natural gas carriers fell


nearly 83 percent to just over 1 million CGT as Qatar completed its orders and others have held back after the sector surged, and as new fears over the USTR, which has said it will require a portion of LNG exports on U.S.-owned vessels.


One sector that has not slowed is containerships. Korea, in recent years, has largely ceded the sector to China, which has a cost advantage. However, as the ships have gotten more complex and sought alternative fuels, it has created an opportunity for the Korean builders who have strong positions with methanol and LNG-fuelled vessels.


With the looming U.S. fees, South Korea reports containerships were half its order volume in 2025, or a total of 4.87 million CGT. This was up from just two orders that went to Korean shipyards for containerships in the first half of 2024. HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, the parent company of HD Hyundai’s shipbuilders, reports it has received so far in 2025 orders for 50 containerships. In total, it said it has achieved nearly two-thirds (62.2 percent) of its order target for 2025, or orders valued at $11.22 billion.


A further positive sign for the Korean shipbuilders has been a rebound in profitability. Hanwha Ocean returned to profitability in the second quarter with a 30 percent increase in revenues. Similarly, Samsung Heavy Industries said sales were up six percent while operating profit was up nearly 57 percent. It notes that this was the first time since 2024 that Samsung Heavy Industries’ quarterly operating profit exceeded 200 billion won ($144 million).


24 | ISSUE 113 | SEP 2025 | THE REPORT


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