PWC sales hold in March

After year-over-year sales growth reached as high as 9 percent in January, growth has since slipped down to 7.5 percent for the month of March, according to data on new boat registrations from Info-Link Technologies.

The year-over-year sales change amongst Bellwether states, which represent roughly half of the U.S. boating market, geographically dispersed, is up for the first three months of the year, compared to a 7.5-10 percent drop in 2012.

Across the entire boating market, with data available through December, sales continued to grow year-over-year. However, Bellwether states performed half a percentage point better than the entirety of the boating market, on average. Sales for December were up 7.7 percent, year-over-year, across the U.S.

PWC sales, which saw flat sales or growth for nine straight months beginning in May 2012, felt momentum slow down in February among Bellwether states. A similar stumble occurred in July and August of 2012, but sales climbed more aggressively in the months following.

Consumer comfort, compiled for Bloomberg by Langer Research Associates in New York, reported a five-year high on April 14 in contrast to other consumer comfort indices reporting weakening consumer confidence.