MARINE INDUSTRY AGAIN REGISTERS GROWTH

Domestic boat sales

Already in 2004, domestic trade had increased considerably. Something of a downturn in growth was expected but quite the contrary occurred. In euro terms, sales exceeded the EUR 100 million mark for the first time to reach 102,3 million. Of this total, imported boats accounted for around 36% in euro terms. Based on statistics provided by Finnboat's participating enterprises, 11743 (+10,7%) smallcraft and motorboats in the under 6 m class were sold. Based on the same method of measurement, 655 (+19%) boats in the 6,01 - 7 m class were sold. Sales in the 7,01 - 8-meter class comprised 146 (-11,6%) units; in the class 8,01 - 9 meters, 93 (+2,1%) boats were sold, with 42 boats (+55,5%) in the 9,01 - 10 meter class. In the largest size class, i.e. boats over 10 meters, 26 units (-46,9%) were sold. In Finland, 185 sailboats were sold, representing a growth of 19,3% over the previous year. The import share for sailboats was 85,3%.

Boat exports

The export share of Finland's total marine industry production continues to be very high. According to information provided by industry enterprises, the export billing share of total invoicing for the year 2005 was 69,7%. Of export billing, the sailboat share for 2005 was 42,4%. The dedicated work of industry enterprises on both traditional markets and in creating new markets has brought dividends over the years. While the invoice value of boat exports in 1990 was around 42 million euros, the corresponding figure for 2005 was EUR 195,9 million, in itself, a growth of 9,5% when compared with 2004 (based on estimates supplied by industry enterprises). Customs' authority statistics for 2005 are available for the period January - October only and, as a consequence, the actual number of boats trans-shipped over the border is not yet known. For the period January -October, export statistics for the top ten destinations are as follows:

Country	Units	EUR (m)	%
Sweden	2870	33,5	21
Norway	3427	31,5	19,5
Great Britain	216	19,4	12
Italy	14	13,8	8,6
Greece	12	13,1	8,4
Germany	395	10,5	6,5
Russia	354	8,1	5,0
Georgia	1	3,6	2,2
France	34	3,5	2,2
Denmark	323	2,9	1,8

In addition, for the first ten months of the year export destinations valued at over one million euros were Japan, Switzerland, Holland, Estonia and Greenland. In all, 9129 boats were exported to 35 countries for the period in question.

Boat imports

Import statistics provided by customs were available for the January - October period only. On this basis, the value of boat imports for the period in question was EUR 37 million, a 14% increase over the corresponding period in the previous year (Boats valued at less than EUR 840,- have not been included in these statistics). Import statistics for the top four source countries for the period January - October are as follows:

Country	Units	EUR (m)	%
Sweden	625	6,2	16,5
Germany	55	5,6	15,2
USA	319	5,1	13,7
France	219	3,9	10,6

In addition to the above, source countries with imports valued at over one million euros were Russia, Poland and Estonia. In all, 2620 boats were imported during the period in question.

Engine sales

Unit sales of outboard engine, based on wholesale delivery statistics, increased by 14,3% to 27304 units at the close of 2005. In euro terms, the difference is greater since the trend to buy larger engines continues. Engine deliveries to third countries, mainly Russia, have also increased and the re-export share of the total unit sales was 4320 units (15,8%). In
addition, the price level has risen to some extent. The four-stroke and low-emission 2-stroke engines' share of total sales was about 65%. Of all size classes, the largest continues to be engines below 5 hp. Their share of the total is more than 40%. In all, 313 (+95,5%) petrol- driven, sterndrive engines were sold and 1130 diesel versions (+35,3%). The total sales of shaft-driven engines was 970 units (+20,3%), all of which were diesels. When the sale of outboard engines is considered on the basis of economic regions,
Uusimaa (including Helsinki) represents the largest region (4231 units) followed by Varsinais-Suomi (2682) and Pirkanmaa (1619). The smallest region was Keski-Pohjanmaa with 238 units.

Personal water craft (PWC)

In 2005, 184 personal water craft were sold in Finland, representing an annual growth of 0.5% over the previous year.

Net sales (millions) of Finnboat member enterprises in 2005 by sector (0%VAT) (manufacturer and importer prices)

	FINLAND	EXPORT
BOATS	102,3 (+7,2%)	195,9 (+9,5%)
ENGINES	72,5 (+20,6%)	7,5 (+78%)
EQUIPMENT	80,7 (+17,3%)	24,8 (+10,2%)
SERVICES ETC.	15,7 (+6,8%)
TOTAL	271,2 (+13,5%)	228,2 (+11%)
MARINE INDUSTRY AND TRADE TOTAL	499,4 (+12.4 %)

Marine industry prospects remain good for 2006

At the beginning of January, Finnboat asked member enterprises to answer a few basic questions. We inquired about their plans for net sales and labour requirements. Overall, it appears that 63,5% of the companies have budgeted for an increase in net sales while 3,2%, forecast a fall. Concerning labour requirements, altogether 44,2% plan to increase their workforce while 5% indicated they would reduce the number of workers.

Finnboat membership responses to January 2006 questionnaire

	Net sales for 2006	Previous year
less than for 2005	4%	(5,4%)
the same as 2005	32,5%	(34,6%)
greater than 2005	63,5 %	(60%)

	Personnel for 2006	Previous year
less than for 2005	5%	(4,5%)
the same as 2005	50,8%	(67,3%)
greater than 2005	44,2%	(28,2%)

For further information, please contact:

Managing Director Jouko Huju
, tel: 040-5509310
Finnish Marine Industries Federation Finnboat
Käenkuja 8 A 47, FIN-00500 Helsinki
Tel: +358 (0)9 696 2160, Fax: +358 (0)9 696 21611

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