The electronic version of The Superyacht Intelligence Annual Report 2015 is now available to download for existing subscribers. Non-subscribers can purchase the PDF version and the print copy, circulated from next week, for a one-off fee.

Following months of research and data collation, The Superyacht Group has produced a report that we feel provides the most accurate overview of the state of the superyacht industry. And it is clear that the industry is walking on a tightrope as it enters 2015. All too many yards have become overly reliant on solo projects to tide them over, and the order book looks worryingly thin beyond 30 months.

This lead-in time affords the industry significant respite, and if the market’s engine room – the second-hand sales market - can continue to splutter into life, this should trigger the domino effect that will ignite the new build market.

But there is no doubt that both sectors are afflicted with problems. The sales market is pegged back by an inventory that shows no signs of thinning, and why should it, when no viable means of clearing have been proposed by industry stakeholders?

And the new build sector is still far too heterogeneous. Too many shipyards continue to enter the market, providing cheaper alternatives to recognised names or overstretching their own construction capabilities. And this serves to distort or warp market prices, placing strain on the purveyors of quality who are seeking orders. As Perini Navi Group’s total quality manager Franco Torre so aptly put it at the recent Italian Superyacht Forum, "The sailing market has only historically had four to six clients each year and there are three or four competitors going for those clients so it's just a question of who gets the business."

This is now a problem afflicting the wider market, which is made clear in the report. There are also geographical and LOA market discrepancies that must be addressed, but our findings also indicate this is a new era, with the potential to be one of growth and improved efficiency. But it will require a conscious effort on the part of key stakeholders.

To download the PDF, or purchase The Superyacht Intelligence Annual Report 2015, please click here.

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