Automotive Dealers, NEC

In 2009, Dun & Bradstreet reported an estimated 12,374 firms engaged in the retail sale of new and used automotive vehicles, equipment, and supplies, not elsewhere classified. The industry generates more than $4.2 billion in revenues annually. Major segments of this industry are retailers of aircraft, utility trailers, and golf carts.

Retail businesses engaged in selling aircraft and aircraft parts tend to move through boom-bust cycles with the swings in the economy. Thus, this business segment was significantly impacted by the economic recession of the late 2000s. Manufacturers cut production as demand dropped and the market flooded with unused and underused aircraft. Business jets also were hit with public perception problems, appearing extravagant and wasteful. At the end of 2008, the marketing research firm PMI cut its forecast of the number of very light jets to be delivered between 2008 and 2017 by 23 percent, from 5,970 to 4,610. According to National Aircraft Resale Association (NARA), approximately 4,000 business jets are traded every year and, at any given time, between 10 and 20 percent of all business jets owned in the United States are for sale.

Snowmobile retailers sell new and used snowmobiles, parts, and equipment and are involved in the servicing of the vehicles. Dealers contract to carry the product lines supplied by the four snowmobile manufacturers worldwide: Arctic Cat, headquartered in Thief River Falls, Minnesota; Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), headquartered in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada; Polaris Industries, headquartered in Medina, Minnesota; and Yamaha Motor Corporation USA, headquartered in Cypress, California. There were 2,172 snowmobile dealers in the United States in 2008, and more than 90,000 full-time North American jobs are generated by the snowmobile industry in manufacturing, dealerships, and tourism-related businesses.

The sport of snowmobiling is relatively new; snowmobiles were first mass produced in the 1950s by Bombardier Inc., a Canadian company. The market peaked around 1971, when dealers sold approximately 500,000 units. By 2000, according to International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association figures, units sold globally fell to just over 208,000. Sales continued to steadily decline through the 2000s, falling to 164,753 units in 2008. Of that total, 79,552 units were sold in the United States. Michigan is the state with the largest number of registered snowmobiles (350,900), followed by Minnesota (240,000), Wisconsin (220,000), and New York (128,273). Among less populous states, Maine had 89,250 registered snowmobiles, followed by New Hampshire (60,000), Alaska (55,246), Idaho (48,413 ), Montana (36,757), Wyoming (19,060), North Dakota (12,580), and South Dakota (6,817). A total of 1.62 million snowmobiles were registered in the United States in 2008.

E-Z-GO, located in Augusta, Georgia, is the largest distributor of golf and utility carts through its factory locations and independent distributors. Club Car, Inc., located in Evans, Georgia, is a subsidiary of giant Ingersoll Rand and a leader in the distribution of golf carts as well as utility carts. The company, which posted revenues of $73.8 million in 2008, has a network of 600 dealers, distributors, and factory stores worldwide. Like other segments of the industry, the golf and utility cart sector struggled in the late 2000s to overcome the decline in consumer spending&especially on nonessential and recreational items. Nonetheless, the industry was helped by the introduction of advanced technology, such as golf carts with electronic speed control and utility carts with added versatility and power. In addition, some states were considering allowing at least limited access to roads by golf and utility cart drivers, opening up further marketing opportunities for the industry.