- There are four major manufacturers that build snowmobiles. They are: Arctic Cat - headquartered in Thief River Falls, MN; BRP - headquartered in Valcourt, Quebec; Polaris Industries - headquartered in Medina, MN; and Yamaha Motor Corporation - headquartered in Cypress, CA.
- In 2008 there were 163,753 snowmobiles sold worldwide; 79,552 were sold in the U.S. and 50,556 were sold in Canada.
- The average suggested retail price of a new snowmobile sold in 2007 was $8,800 (US Funds).
- The number of Snowmobile Dealers:
United States - 2172
Canada - 1154
Scandinavia - 430
- There are approximately 1.62 million registered snowmobiles in the US and 708,490 registered snowmobiles in Canada.
| State/Province |
# registered |
| AK | 55,246 |
| CA | 22,882 |
| CO | 34,042 |
| ID | 48,413 |
| IL | 38,724 |
| IN | 10,748 |
| IA | 28,000 |
| ME | 89,250 |
| MA | 15,324 |
| MI | 350,900 |
| MN | 240,000 |
| MT | 36,757 |
| NE | 2,100 |
| NH | 60,000 |
| NY | 128,283 |
| ND | 12,580 |
| OH | 17,300 |
| OR | 17,900 |
| PA | 42,118 |
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| State/Province |
# registered |
| SD | 6,817 |
| UT | 30,781 |
| VT | 35,181 |
| WA | 36,442 |
| WI | 220,000 |
| WY | 19,060 |
| AB | 28,173 |
| BC | 75,000 |
| MB | 25,000 |
| NB | 10,367 |
| NF | 75,545 |
| NS | 7,000 |
| NT | na |
| NU | 286 |
| ON | 305,000 |
| PE | 1,642 |
| QC | 161,868 |
| SA | 17,710 |
| YT | 899 |
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Worldwide snowmobile sales for the last 15 years are:
1993 - 158,000
1994 - 181,000
1995 - 227,400
1996 - 252,324
1997 - 255,773
1998 - 257,936
1999 - 230,887
2000 - 208,297
2001 - 208,592
2002 - 203,153
2003 - 186,627
2004 - 181,336
2005 - 173,733
2006 - 164,860
2007 - 160,318
2008 - 163,753
The Economic Impact of Snowmobiling:
United States - $ 22 billion annually
Canada - $ 6 billion annually
Scandinavia - $1.6 billion annually
Over 90,000 full time jobs are generated by the snowmobile industry in North America. Those jobs are involved in manufacturing, dealerships and tourism related businesses.
The average age of a snowmobiler is 44 years old.
The average annual household income for snowmobilers is $72,000.
The average snowmobiler rides their snowmobile 1040 miles per year.
The average snowmobiler spends $4,000 each year on snowmobile-related recreation.
Approximately 70% of all active snowmobilers are male; 30% female.
60% of the snowmobilers usually trailer their snowmobiles to go riding. 40% either snowmobile from their primary residence or have a vacation home where they keep and use their snowmobiles.
Approximately 80% of snowmobilers use their snowmobile for trail riding and touring on marked and groomed trails. 20% of snowmobilers use their snowmobile for work, ice fishing or transportation.
Snowmobilers spend on the average 7.2 nights per snowmobile season in a motel/resort room while snowmobiling.
Snowmobilers are caring neighbors, they raised about $3 million for charity during the 2007-2008 season.
Approximately 18% of all snowmobilers are part of the Senior Circuit - 60 years or older and 37% of all snowmobilers are 50 years or older.
There are over 225,000 miles of groomed and marked snowmobile trails in North America that have been developed by volunteer clubs working with local government and private land owners.
There are over 3000 snowmobile clubs worldwide, involved in trail grooming and charity fund raising and family activities.
There are 40 registered non-profit associations representing snowmobilers in the U.S., Canada and Scandinavia.
Snowmobiling is great exercise that brings people outdoors to interact with nature and each other. It is an invigorating sport that is great for stress release and good mental health.
Snowmobiling is a great family lifestyle. It is an activity that keeps parents and kids together. Historically individuals who snowmobile at a young age continue to snowmobile with their parents throughout their lives, sharing great experiences as a family. In many winter regions, snowmobiling is simply the main form of winter outdoor recreation and in some cases the main method of transportation available.
The use of snowmobiles in National Parks is regulated by Federal Law Enforcement. The snowmobiling occurs on roads groomed and marked for snowmobiling, the same roadways used by recreational vehicles, cars, trucks and busses. Snowmobiles are NOT used as off-road vehicles in National Parks such as Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain and Grand Teton.
On U.S. National Forest Land, most of the trails used by snowmobiles are on groomed roads used by summer recreationists. There are also secondary and seasonal roads within the forests used by snowmobilers. These roads are groomed and marked by volunteers who work closely with the local U.S. Forest Service staff in maintaining and managing those areas.
The manufacturers have always been actively involved in promoting safe riding behavior while snowmobiling. Over one million safety related brochures, decals and hundreds of thousands of posters and safety videos have been distributed free of charge to snowmobile enthusiasts throughout the world. Safety trainers, enforcement officers, Chambers of Commerce and more use safety materials provided by the manufacturers through the Safe Riders! You make snowmobiling safe™ safety campaign.
Visit the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association web sites at www.snowmobile.org and www.gosnowmobiling.org for more information.
July, 2008
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Safe Riders! Information
