Denison Yachting has published its quarterly business report, calling the quarter 1 of 2022 as ‘positive one’ in the yachting industry. According to it, ‘like 2020, 2021 was an impressive year for the yacht sector, and 2022 is following this upward trend. After unprecedented shake-ups in the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, yachting recovered with a bang, and hotbeds like the United States Southeast and the Mediterranean region achieved record sales. By the end of Q4 2021, powerboat sales in the U.S. had exceeded more than 300,000 units for the second consecutive year, and the industry stood out as an excellent example of economic resilience. This set the stage for Q1 2022’.


 Bob Denison

Now that 2022 is underway, the long-term impact of the pandemic has begun taking shape. While a reasonable chunk of the sales in 2021 was attributed to the long backlogs carried over from 2020, the market’s performance this year has so far been primarily driven by new orders. 
 
Global Yacht Market Performance in Q1 2022

Despite economic times and supply chain upheavals, the yachting sector had a strong start to the year. Quarter 1 2022 had the third highest first-quarter boat sales of the last 15 years, behind only 2021 and 2018.

The below chart demonstrates this, showing first-quarter sales in North America in the last seven years.



Sales across all the top boating regions decreased in Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021, bringing the total closer to, but still above, pre-pandemic times. 

The following chart illustrates first-quarter sales in Asia since 2016.



Asia registered a 35% drop from the target-shattering 2021 figures, followed by North America with 16%. Surprisingly, sales in Europe only dropped by 8%, even with sanctioned Russian buyers, who have traditionally accounted for 9% of all global superyacht sales.

The chart below displays first-quarter sales in Europe for the past seven years.



Q1 2022 Sales in the U.S.

The U.S. market started the year on a high, with sales in Quarter 1 2022 only marginally below Quarter 1 2021 levels. America was the only one of the three key yachting areas with higher sales than the five-year average.



Sales in the top three major boating destinations – the Southeast, the Gulf Coast, and the Mid-Atlantic – dropped by 14% from Q1 2021, but were still 19% higher than Q1 2020.

An Impressive First Quarter for Denison
Denison sales in Q1 2022 mirrored the industry’s overall performance, exceeding pre-pandemic numbers and our five-year average. The top Denison categories – superyachts, motor yachts, sportfish, sailboats, and trawlers, all had a strong showing in Q1.


 
The Report says that ‘we had a remarkable Quarter 1, with sales exceeding $160 million for the second consecutive first quarter’. 

‘Denison’s charter business has achieved commendable growth in the past two years, and is expected to continue throughout 2022’, says at the end of the report. 

Denison has long been a leader in the yachting industry with a rich family history dating back to 1948, and the start of Broward Marine in Fort Lauderdale. Today, the company provides complete yachting services worldwide, including superyacht sales, yacht charter, crew placement, and new construction. Denison operates out of 21 waterfront offices in the United States, and one location in Monaco with a team of 100+ licensed and bonded yacht brokers. 

Credits: Denison Yachting; Unsplash

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