Rough waters ahead for the boating industry due to supply chain obstacles. The personal boating industry is slowing down even though demand for on-the-water equipment is soaring. Glenn Kirk of Captain Kirk's Marine in The Woodlands says there is still high demand. "Once we went into the Covid Lockdown, people wanted to do ANYTHING that would get them outdoors. Our supply of boats in the showroom was reduced quickly!" He says supply chain obstacles are in the way of his customers getting their boat. Kirk says factory Covid restrictions have delayed some of his orders for at least a year. "And...truckers and any freight delivery system take the parts to the manufacturers, and then the finished products to the retailers --- so it's a domino effect!"
The National Marine Manufacturers Association says people are waiting an average of 6 months for delivery. "It's a process of some little part or something may hold up a boat going down the assembly line, or a motor going down the assembly line, because of all the subcontractors involved in putting our product together. It just depends on the boat, the model and the motor. We have some of the big outboard motors that I have been waiting for for over a year!"
Kirk says nonetheless...since Covid, the demand for outdoor sports equipment has soared. Kirk says to order what you want now because manufacturers are building ordered boats first..
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Supply Chain Issues are messing up Boating Fun