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PWC, trailer often sold as package

These days PWC trailers are almost always sold as a package with a jet boat. And personal watercraft sales have continued to slide lower. But some observers feel the market is in the process of bottoming out.
Load Rite’s Bob Huff assesses this market as “even to slightly down.” Nevertheless, the Pennsylvania boat trailer builder is committed to PWC trailers and is re-engineering their offerings to deal with the new larger and heavier watercraft. “We’ve raised our capacity rating on the single and double,” Huff says. Triton’s Doreen Margelowsky also acknowledges this trend, saying that, “We have to accommodate these larger machines that are almost a boat.”
Triton’s northeast distributor, Dick Fisk, reports “our sales are up on those (PWC trailers).” He has seen a “steady increase over time” with this product line because “the customer is now demanding a better quality trailer.” He explains “it’s primarily a ‘hey, look at me’ attitude. Triton has more accessories to put on that trailer than anyone else in the industry.” But Dutton-Lainson’s Mark Bliss says, “we make a winch specifically for personal watercraft, and we’ve seen it (demand) slow down dramatically.”
Chilton’s Pete Herrick reports that their PWC trailer sales “are running 8% ahead of last year” in what he and many others view as a “price-driven market.” But he also cautions that the Wisconsin manufacturer’s current increase could be due to an early spring in the upper midwest, and that it will be a few months before any real trend is clear.

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