No confusion in industry’s response to E15 ruling

The National Marine Manufacturers Association distributed a release yesterday in response to a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to grant limited approval for the sale of gasoline containing up to 15 percent ethanol for model year 2007 and newer motor vehicles.  NMMA said the decision specifically excludes marine engines and other non-road engines such as snowmobiles, lawn and garden equipment, as well as other gasoline-powered small engines and does not allow E15 for marine engines of any age. There is no waiver for marine engines older than model year 2000. Read more >>

Good news for a change

The boating industry received several pieces of positive news this week as the National Marine Bankers Association reported signs of stabilizing retail boat prices, the federal government reached a decision that will allow more dealerships to qualify for SBA loans, and IBEX organizers said that attendance at this year’s event was up 13 percent from 2009. Read more >>

MDCE early-bird registration about to expire

This Sunday there will be exactly six weeks left until the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo begins at the Orange County Convention Center and Rosen Plaza hotel in Orlando. Read more >>

A look at the small business bill

With Congress back in session this week, the Senate approved a bill yesterday that has the support of both the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the Marine Retailers Association of America, who believe it will provide tax relief for small businesses and improve access to loans. Read more >>

Are big boat repos up in your market?

There was an article yesterday on boat repossessions in Georgia that caught my attention. It was reported that at Holiday Marina on Lake Lanier business has picked up with respect to “ordinary boats” but a number of slips were vacant due to the absence of houseboats valued at more than $1 million, which lenders were repossessing in “record numbers.” Read more >>

Boaters brace for Earl

As Hurricane Earl continues to brush northward along the East Coast, boaters in its path continue to make preparations for the storm’s arrival, while reports from North Carolina’s Outer Banks indicated it had done less damage there than many had feared. Read more >>

Discover Boating’s new agency

With the news this week that Grow Boating, Inc. has selected OLSON as its agency-of-record for the re-launch of the Discover Boating marketing campaign, here’s some more information on the Minneapolis-based marketing firm that will be helping direct the effort to get more people on the water. Read more >>

Our Top 100 reviews begin

As I write this, Matt, Mike and I are sitting in a cabin in northern Minnesota watching the sun go down as we take a break from reviewing our fifth Top 100 application of the day on our fifth day of the review process. Read more >>

Oil spill survey: a closer look

This week the National Marine Manufacturers Association released the results of an online survey of 178 chief executives of member boat, engine and accessory manufacturers on the effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on the recreational marine industry.

These numbers were the most widely reported:

– 3 of 5 recreational marine businesses have been affected by the oil spillage.

– Nearly 4 of 5 companies anticipate some effect from the oil spillage on their business through the remainder of the year.

– 68 percent of companies were told that a cancellation was directly due to the oil spillage.

– 76 percent of companies had forecast sales growth in 2010 prior to the oil spillage.

– 70 percent of companies have downwardly revised their 2010 sales projection as a direct result of the oil spillage.

But here’s a look at what else the survey found: Read more »

E12: Ethanol’s back-up plan

With the Environmental Protection Agency soon to decide whether to grant a waiver that would allow fuel containing ethanol blends of up to 15 percent to be used in newer road vehicles, at least one company with a strong interest in the decision has a back-up plan in case the ruling doesn’t go its way. Read more >>