It is September and boat show season is upon us. Are you thinking about buying a new boat this year? There are a few new and somewhat critical developments that should be part of that decision.
Boatbuilding has always been a challenging business. Among other things It requires a highly skilled workforce and the ability to predict the cost of materials a year or more in advance. Profits, when made, are slim and the boat business in general fluctuates dramatically with boom to bust cycles.
In the post covid world with inflation running at 10%, labor very difficult to find, the supply chains slow and disrupted, boatbuilders face pressures greater than ever. And now we have a potential disaster in the making in Europe where costs for electricity have gone ballistic forcing the shutdown of various producers of energy intensive products such as glass, chemicals, ammonia, fertilizer, etc. Maybe this will all resolve itself in the next few months, but I have my doubts.
How will this affect boatbuilding particularly in Europe, where many catamarans are built? Certainly anyone costing out new projects will have to build in not only materials inflation but the possibility of power rationing and inability to obtain the necessary materials in a timely manner. That is the most benign situation since the builder has a chance to account for the current problems in the price.
In the case of a boatbuilder with a backlog of orders fixed at lower prices it may kill them. Either that or they will need to go back to the customer will hat in hand looking for additional funds.