Exports to Sweden increased by close to 50 %. Domestic sales of the Finnish marine industry fell by 4,2 % (euro-valued), total industry turnover on the other hand grew by 6,4 %. Exactly half of Finnboat members forecast their turnovers to grow in 2016, with 21 % declaring an intention to increase their labour force. The total 2015 turnover of Finnboat's membership was EUR 488,4 million (VAT 0 %, based on ex-factory and import prices).
Domestic boat sales
Boat registrations in unit terms grew by 4,3 % last year resulting in 3685 registered boats by year end. This represented a rise for the third year running. Most boats registered were motorboats: 540 personal water craft and 67 inflatable boats/RIBs were registered. However, domestic boat sales fell by 14,9 % in euro terms.
Total sales of sailboats in Finland (i.e those over 20 feet) comprised 21 boats, two fewer than for the previous year.
Small craft sales (i.e. rowing boats and boats below 4,5 meters) fell by 23 % when compared with the previous year.
Boat exports
The invoicing value for 2015 boat exports, based on figures supplied by member enterprises, was EUR 209,1 million, up by 19% compared with 2014. The export share of the marine industry's total production for 2015 was around 70 %. Of export invoicing, the sailboat share for 2015 was 41 %.
Customs' statistics for the year 2015 are available for the Jan-Nov period only and therefore the actual number of boats shipped across the border for the whole year is not yet known. Export figures for the Jan-Nov period indicate that the top ten export destinations were as follows:
Country
Units
Euro value (millions)
_</FONT>% change
Norway
3109
54,2
(+30,1 %)
Sweden
3401
50,4
(+48,3 %)
Malta
2
18,9
(+77,7 %)
Italy
3
15,9
(+1517,2 %)
Russia
278
9,9
(-17,8 %)
Germany
226
6,6
(+19,4 %)
Great Britain
89
6,3
(+93,8 %)
Switzerland
78
2,7
(+78,0 %)
France
63
2,4
(-30,7 %)
Greenland
23
2,1
(-16,5 %)
In addition, export destinations for the same period and valued at more than one million euros each were Estonia, Holland and Lithuania. A total of 7716 boats (+13,1 %) were exported to 41 countries during the above-mentioned period.
Boat imports
Customs' statistics for boat imports are available for the same Jan-Nov period. The value of imports for the period was EUR 29,1 million (+10,3 %). Boats valued at less than EUR 840 each are excluded from these statistics. Import figures for the top five source countries for January-November were as follows:
Country
Units
Euro-value (million)
Poland
191
5,1
(+25,9 %)
Great Britain
6
4,5
(+22,0 %)
Sweden
65
2,3
(+10,9 %)
USA
154
1,4
(-38,0 %)
Italy
1
0,6
(+9498 %)
Wholesale delivery of outboard engines
In all, 23,093 outboard engines (-29,5 %) were delivered to retailers via Finnish importers. Of these, 11,332 (-16,5 %) were supplied to the domestic market. Finnish importers re-export engines to, among other destinations, Russia and the Baltic States. There were no significant changes in distribution among the size classes. The largest class comprises engines below 15 HP, accounting for more than 60 % of the total.
The 2015 turnovers of Finnboat member enterprises in millions of euros were as follows (VAT 0 %, ex-factory and import prices):
Finland million Euro
Export million Euro
Boats
84,0 (-14,9 %)
209,1 (+19,0 %)
Engines
37,0 (-20,9 %)
12,8 (-18,4 %)
Equipment
83,9 (+18,0 %)
30,5 (+23,1 %)
Services, etc.
28,8 (+2,0 %)
2,3 (+318,3 %)
TOTAL
233,7 (-4,6 %)
254,7 (+15,2 %)
Industry TOTAL
488,4 million euros (+6,38 %)
Industry prospects for 2016
Finnboat asked members about their expectations concerning 2016 turnover and workforce requirements. They responded as follows:
Personnel for 2016
21 % of the companies expect the workforce to increase (22 % in 2015)
7 % of the companies expect it to decrease (7%)
72 % of the companies expect it to remain the same (71%).
Turnover for 2016
50 % of the companies expect the turnover to increase (46% in 2015)
9 % of the companies expect it to decrease (9%)
41 % of the companies expect it to remain the same 41% (45%).
Workers were laid-off in 14% of responding enterprises (2014: 19%).
For further information, please contact:
Managing Director Jouko Huju
Marine Industries Federation Finnboat
Käenkuja 8 A 47, 0500 Helsinki
Tel.: 0207 669 341, 040 550 9310
www.finnboat.fi
www.suomiveneilee.fi
www.export.finnboat.fi
@joukohuju
