NEW YORK: Harley-Davidson’s shares skidded to a more than one-year low after the motorcycle maker cut its full-year shipments forecast as demand weakens among its aging baby-boomer customers and fewer millennials take to motorcycling.
The Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker also said it would need to cut production in second half of 2017, resulting in hourly workforce reductions at some of its US plants.
While demand for new models has waned, the company has also taken a hit from used motorcycles being sold off by aging customers.
For the full year, Harley said it expects to ship 241,000 to 246,000 motorcycles, compared with 262,221 a year earlier. The company had previously forecast shipments to be flat to modestly down. That’s a far cry from the nearly 350,000 it shipped a year about a decade ago.
Harley is also up against aggressive discounting by rivals such as Polaris Industries and Japan’s Honda Motor Company Limited.
The company said it expected to ship 39,000 to 44,000 motorcycles in the current quarter, suggesting a decline of up to 20 per cent.
Retail motorcycle sales fell 9.3 percent in the US, its biggest market, and 6.7pc globally in the second quarter ended June 25.
Harley said its share in the US market fell to 48.5pc from 49.5pc a year earlier.