A monthly glance marine dealerships by IDS Marine, an MRAA Education Champion.
Repair event cycle times (RECT) at U.S. marine dealerships continued to improve in September 2026, with the average dropping to 22 days.
- This represents a five-day decrease from August’s 27-day average, continuing the industry’s recent run of shorter RECT.
- Despite the month-over-month improvement, the month’s average remained a day slower than September 2025. That means dealerships are approaching, but have not surpassed, last year’s overall pace.
- The September results — just 22 days — build on the service improvements seen throughout this past summer. Since June (36 days), RECT has dropped monthly. July was 28 days, while August was 27 days.
Warranty coverage and out-of-stock parts, two RECT bottlenecks, improved in September.
- Work orders with warranty coverage averaged 45 days, improving four days from August’s 49-day average, though warranty work remains the biggest contributor to extended repair timelines.
- Out-of-stock parts work orders averaged 40 days, improving three days from August and one day from the previous September. It was the fastest September average for this bottleneck since 2018.
What This Means for Dealers
- MoM improvement: September’s five-day improvement extends the industry’s recent run of shorter RECT.
- Sustained reduction: Overall RECT has reduced by 14 days since June of 2026, showing sustained improvement rather than a single strong month.
- Warranty work improving: Warranty-related RECT in September was at 45 days. That’s better but these work orders still take more than double the time versus the 22-day overall average.
- Parts progress: Out-of-stock parts RECT improved to 40 days, which was the fastest September since 2018. That figure edged September 2025 by one day.
- Zoom out: Dealers have some positives to build on, with month-over-month improvement for overall RECT, both bottlenecks as well as September’s overall RECT slower than the 2025 figure.
Monthly Takeaway
The September data reveals that the summer service improvements carried into the early fall. Warranty and parts-related work remain lengthier than the overall repair cycle, so maintaining focus on those two bottlenecks gives boat dealerships a clear opportunity to protect the progress they’ve made. Continuing to shorten the time customers are without their boats is always a good trend.
