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42 | Boating Industry | April 2017 www.BoatingIndustry.com /// Market Trends /// "The used market seems to be shrinking a little bit because the new product is INVITING enough to entice buyers to make that jump." — Brian Seti, Yamaha Sales in Florida account for 14.3 percent of total personal watercraft sales, according to NMMA, followed by Texas with 8.9 percent of the market. But that Southern stronghold is starting to face some stiff competition from Northern markets. NMMA notes that Michigan represents the third-largest PWC market in the country, accounting for 5.6 percent of all PWC sales. Michigan-based Statistical Surveys, Inc. supports that contention, not- ing that the Detroit Basic Trading Area demonstrated the second-strongest growth in PWC sales in the country last year, with a year-over-year gain of 25.38 percent. The only BTA to top it was San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, with a massive 43.26 percent sales jump in 2016. Other strong results in Northern markets were reported for the Philadelphia-Wilmington-Trenton BTA, with a 22.09 percent year-over-year gain, and New York City, with 2016 sales up by 20.9 percent. SSI's national numbers closely echo those of NMMA. SSI reports total 2016 sales of personal watercraft at 57,274 units, which represents a 7.54 percent gain over the 53,254 units sold in 2015. Those are solid numbers, particularly for a market segment served by only three players. According to SSI, Sea-Doo currently enjoys 54 percent market share in the PWC space, followed by Yamaha with 40 percent and Kawasaki holding a 6 percent share. An entry point into boating With their low prices compared to traditional powerboats, personal water- craft have long been seen as a gateway product to bring new people into recreational boating. According to Info-Link, the average price in the United States today for a new personal watercraft is $11,000, while the average price of a pre-owned unit is just $2,600. New models that specifically target price-sensitive buyers, PWC SALES GROWTH 12 MONTHS ROLLING TOTAL, SEPTEMBER 2016 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA 43.26% Detroit, MI 25.38% Philadelphia, PA-Wilmington, DE-Trenton, NJ 22.09% New York, NY 20.90% Jacksonville, FL 16.03% Orlando, FL 14.86% Los Angeles, CA 14.37% Charlotte-Gastonia, NC 12.23% Atlanta, GA 9.12% San Antonio, TX 6.79% Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN 6.73% Birmingham, AL 6.11% Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 5.28% Chicago, IL 3.89% West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, FL 2.79% Austin, TX 1.62% Seattle-Tacoma, WA 0.51% Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL -3.02% Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL -3.62% Houston, TX -10.05% PWC sales were up 7.54 percent on a rolling 12-month basis through September 2016 across the country, with many markets posting double-digit gains.