The overall order book for 2016 shows that the yachting industry is strong, or at least stronger than in past years. After two stable years (in terms of numbers), following the decline in 2013, the number of new yachts on order or under construction is on the rise: 755 superyachts of 24m and over.
This year's global order book shows a more compact and stronger yachting industry. Most recognized yards have comfortable order books for the coming year. At the 2015 Cannes Yachting Festival and Monaco Yacht Show, industry professionals were clearly optimistic.
Italy first superyacht builder
In the midst of this constant change, there is one constant: the Azimut Benetti Group retains its first place in the ranking with the largest number of yachts under construction or ordered.
The cards have been reshuffled among the most productive superyacht building countries, even if the top three remain Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
Taiwan, which has been a bit of a laggard in recent years, is making progress again, mainly thanks to Alexander Marine and Horizon. The United Kingdom, meanwhile, is backtracking, as are the Netherlands (which had a record year in 2014-2015), Germany, China and the United Arab Emirates.
But this data can be explained by the strict non-disclosure agreements of the construction sites. Projects that builders are not able to disclose, but that we know about, are filed under the name "custom" instead of being attached to the builder and its country. This usually concerns the largest projects, which means mainly Germany and the Netherlands. The yards are therefore unable to officially confirm these projects, although they are real and will come out of the yards one day.
Norway claims the 10 e place in the rankings, in place of Greece, thanks to the construction of two major projects at Kleven and the work of subcontractors for Palmer Johnson's carbon SuperSport series.
While some U.S. yards are struggling to maintain activity, the U.S. market is currently one of the strongest, according to brokers, unlike Russia. Economic sanctions against Russia as well as other factors, including lower oil prices and political instability continue to have a negative effect on the Russian market. Although the ultra-rich Russian clients are still there, the newcomers to the yachting industry have left the market for the time being.
All of this could explain why 2015 was a good year, but not as good as expected, especially in the brokerage market. The used car market had reached 300 sales by October 14, 2015, a level of sales reached 3 weeks earlier in 2014.
The superyacht market in 2015/2016
In the 250-plus-foot (76.2 m) yacht category, orders are down by only 1 order, compared with last year's record year. However, 21 superyachts of 100 meters (328 feet) or more are under construction, and four were delivered in 2015.
Several impressive projects have already been registered for delivery in the near future, such as the 468-foot (143 m) sailing yacht A at Nobiskrug or the 351-foot (107 m) expedition superyacht Ulysse at Kleven.
Other large projects are already planned for 2016 such as a 468-foot (150 m) large volume secret project delivered by Mariotti, and the largest superyacht in gross tons ever built, the 512-foot (156 m) Omar project, which Lurssën Shipyard is building for a regular client.
Speaking of Lürssen, its order book continues to be impressive, with no less than five projects of more than 100 meters under construction, which will be delivered until 2019. Kleven, Oceanco and Benetti each have at least two projects of 100 meters or more on their respective order books.
A few yards are also making their return to the Global Order Book this year. For example, Burger Boat Company received an order for a 104-foot (31.6 m) expedition yacht, Ocea has a new 99-foot (30 m) Commuter, while Otam is building a 115-foot (35 m) three-decker and Cantieri di Pisa, reborn after a change of ownership, presented two new concepts at the Monaco Yacht Show.
The majority of new orders are for yachts between 90 and 150 feet, an increase of 9% over last year.
In terms of yacht type, expedition yachts are growing, while express cruiser or open orders are declining. Fewer yachts are being built, but are concentrated among a select group of yards traditionally known for building yachts such as Oyster, Southern Wind, Vitters and Royal Huisman, which are well into their order books.
Refit in full growth
The refit business continues to grow in every country and in every job site. Even for the most prestigious and sought-after builders, it has become an essential activity that provides consistent work and income.
Feadship has completed the refit of Podium (launched by Lürssen in 2006 under the name Linda Lou). This is a first for the Dutch company, which previously only handled refits of Feadship yachts.
In the UK, Pendennis continues its success story in refits, with its performance on the beautiful and classic superyacht Malahne and a long list of projects already scheduled for 2016, including the refit of the superyacht Aquila (ex-Cakewalk), built by the Derecktor yard.
Resumption of abandoned projects
Another positive for this year's Global Order Book is that many projects that had been classified as "on hold" for a long period of time have become active projects again, meaning that construction has resumed or will resume soon. For example, Metalships will finish building the 194-foot (59-meter) superyacht, which began construction at FNM in Spain.
At Mondo Marine, the construction of the M54 started a few years ago has been sold and will be delivered in 2017. The Nato project, a 246-foot (75 m), started by San Marco, in La Spezia, Italy, will be shipped to another yard with a completion date in 2018.
There are three unsold hulls in Pisa, but with the yard's new owners, they should be completed in the near future. In Canada, Crescent Yachts, acquired last year by the grandson of the shipyard's founder, is back in business, with two projects "on hold" for years scheduled for launch in 2015 and 2016.
The merger between yards, the new trend?
Merger between manufacturers seems to be the trend and could also be the solution for the future. Mondomarine recently acquired Cantieri di Pisa. Gavio Group, with its main yard Baglietto, already acquired Cerri in 2011, and earlier in 2015 added Bertram to its portfolio.
In the Netherlands, Acico Yachts has promised to breathe new life into the Jongert yard. In China, AIG Yachts, formerly owned by an audiovisual conglomerate, has become part of Sunbird, a boat builder, founded in 2003.
