Total imports for the boat sector amounted to £72 million in the first half of 2002 and this compared with £68.5 million in the corresponding period in the previous year. This underlined the sustained growth in demand for high quality boats in the British market over the past 18 months.

Sales of most types of leisure boats were at a high level in the UK, as the British economy showed considerable resilience during 2002.

Gross domestic product grew by an estimated 1.6% in the current year and, though this rate was lower than in the previous year, it was still satisfactory when compared to other European countries.

Admittedly, industrial production in the UK was still quite depressed, falling by an average of 3% in the real terms but retail sales have continued to move ahead, showing an average rise of 5% recently.

Moreover, unemployment remained quite low while interest rates have also been low by historical standards, with the base rate being static at 4% for many months.

All in all, the economic background has been quite favourable for the boat sector, with total demand being well sustained, including sales of foreign boats.

Imports of motorboats

Motorboats have come in from a variety of sources, but especially continental Europe, and amounted to £35 million in the first six months of 2002, compared with £31.5 million 12 months earlier.

Deliveries by Germany jumped from £320,000 to £2.6 million between January and June 2002 while those by Italy trebled in value to nearly £3 million. Sales by France were maintained at around £2 million.

Deliveries by Sweden jumped from £735,000 to £2 million while those by Finland doubled to £2 million. Increasing sales were also reported by Norway, with a value of £2.6 million, while Denmark jumped to over £550,000 in this period.

The USA was a major supplier of motorboats to the UK but its sales dropped from £13 million to £11 million at the beginning of 2002.

Deliveries by Canada were also lower, amounting to £2.4 million but those by Japan reached £2.7 million at the beginning of 2002 as against £2 million in the corresponding period in 2001.

Imports of inflatables were also higher, accounting for £3.4 million compared to £2.8 million in the same period in 2001.

Sales by some of the Asian suppliers made headway in this sector, with deliveries by China doubling in value to over £800,000, while those by some of the European suppliers were also well sustained.

Sales by Portugal moved up from £300,000 to £450,000 while those by Belgium were also higher in this period.

However, French deliveries of inflatables were under some pressure, falling from £350,000 to £300,000.

Sailboat imports were slightly lower, falling from £34million to £33.5 million in the first half. This drop was mainly due to declining sales by the US, whose exports fell from £4 million to £2.2 million.

European deliveries in this sector were higher in most cases, especially for France.

Sales by France to the UK moved up from £14 million to £15 million in the first half of 2002 while those by Germany were steady at £4.5 million.

Deliveries by Spain doubled to £1.7 million while those by Denmark and Sweden showed a small increase in this period.

In addition, Finnish sales moved higher, rising from £500,000 to £1.4 million in this period.

Summary

It is expected that demand for boats in the UK will continue to rise steadily in the latter part of 2002 and may speed up during the course of next year.

The economy will grow more rapidly in 2003, possibly increasing by 2.5% in real terms and this will provide some boost to the boat sector as well.

Moreover, boat imports will continue to make headway and may increase by around 5% per annum over the medium term.

Trend for exports

Exports were well sustained and moved up from £184 million to £192 million in the first half of 2002.

They were helped by the gradual weakness of the pound against the euro, which has resulted in British boats being cheaper on the Continent.

However, selling abroad has not been easy, as world trading conditions were quite weak and demand for many products, including leisure boats, has been easier in many markets.

Inflatables were lower, dropping from £6 million to £4 million in this period. UK sales to the USA halved in value to less than £2 million, while those to Europe were also easier, especially in Germany. However, they showed some gains in the Far East, particularly in Hong Kong, where they amounted to £155,000 in the first half of 2002.

A useful rise has been seen for exports of sailboats, amounting to £16 million in the first half of 2002 as against less than £15 million in the corresponding period in 2001.

Exports to France performed well and reached over £2 million compared with £700,000 in 2001 while those to Spain jumped to £2 million compared with £175,000 12 months earlier.

In addition, exports to the US moved ahead steadily and reached £3.5 million compared to £2.9 million in 2001.

A steady increase was reported for motorboats, rising from £163 million to £172 million recently. Gains in this sector were reported in some European countries, especially in France and Italy.

Deliveries to France doubled and reached £24 million while those to Italy moved up from £7 million to £12 million recently.

Sales to Spain were at a high level and accounted for £28 million but those to Germany were under pressure, falling from £19 million to £12 million in the first half of 2002.

Exports to the US accounted for £25 million between January and June 2002 but they were lower in Latin America, especially in Brazil.

The trends in the Far East were mixed, especially in Japan where they halved in value to £600,000 recently. In addition, sales to Singapore were quite low, even though they amounted to £2 million 12 months earlier.

Summary

An overall growth in exports of boats of 7% is predicted for next 12 months, even though market conditions will remain quite competitive in certain countries.