The Conference Board last week reported that the recession is “losing steam.” Moreover, they project that a slow recovery should begin by the end of the year. (Read More…)

If you look at our industry sales figures, you’d have to say this recession seems far from over. But, it will end and there are many who point to signs that it could be sooner than later. (Read More…)

It’s the “right stuff” in a bad situation! That’s the bottom line of MRAA president Phil Keeter’s announcement that the association will serve as a catalyst to bring together Genmar dealers. (Read More…)

The time has come for the marine industry as a whole to adopt a consumer’s Bill of Rights. So said the BoatU.S. “Consumer Protection Bureau” in a recent article in the BoatU.S. Magazine distributed to its 600,000 members. (Read More…)

We may be in bad economic times, but these are very good times for local marine trade associations (MTAs)  to be going after desired legislation and regulatory changes in their respective states. (Read More…)

Green marketing has been all the rage, at least until now. However, under the pressure of a continuing bad economy, no one seems sure whether “going green” may be showing signs of wilting.  (Read More…)

Certainly the signals are mixed, but it’s refreshing to see there is definitely more positive than negative economic news these days. (Read More…)

Remember the early days of online video? It took forever to download a short clip. It came up only in a small window and the sound was lousy.  “Forget it,” we would grumble as we moved on rather than wait. (Read More…)

Genmar’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection has shocked most of our industry. It shouldn’t have. Sure, most of us would probably have listed Genmar very low on our list of most-likely to go bankrupt. But, the shock comes more from its dramatization of how vulnerable our industry is, rather than over Genmar’s actual proceedings. (Read More…)

Had two of my grandsons (ages 4 and 2) on the boat last Saturday. What a great day we shared. We swam, walked the beach, found shells, a couple of snails and even caught a small fish. (Read More…)