To better help members plan for their sales year, the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) accelerated the publication of its Statistical Annual, releasing it before the spring selling season instead of toward the end of the year as in the past.
“This is the industry’s most comprehensive assessment of the U.S. motorcycle market, from examining the market volume to motorcycle usage, motorcycle owner profiles and more,” said Scott Schloegel, acting president and CEO of the MIC. “Having it available now makes more sense for our members. They can use the data to make more informed decisions at the start of the year to help their businesses succeed.”
“We are a nearly $48 billion industry with more than 10,000 retail outlets in all 50 states, employing more than 100,000 people,” Schloegel said. “We are a consequential industry that provides important transportation options for work and is the third largest contributor to the outdoor recreation economy.”1
The MIC Statistical Annual is free for MIC members. Non-members can purchase the report for $3,000.
“The Stat Annual is packed with data that gives a good reflection of what motorcycling is like in the United States,” said Buckner Nesheim, director, research and statistics for the MIC. “For example, if you look under motorcycle population data, you can find population and penetration by state and region. In the Northeast, there’s an estimated 3.2 motorcycles per 100 persons. In the West, we’re looking at 3.9 motorcycles per 100 persons. Texas has 2.6 motorcycles per 100 persons, Tennessee has 3.2 and Wyoming has 7.3.”
“There’s also market share data, new motorcycle sales by model type, a comparison of new unit registrations vs. used, information on the economic value of the industry, the number of motorcycle retail outlets by state and employee payroll and more,” Nesheim said. “Also popular is our rider profile, which breaks down riders by first-time buyers, replacement buyers, gender, generation, number of years riding, riding habits and other categories.”
The Stat Annual offers additional insights and information, including interest in technologies (communications systems, navigation and apps), on-highway and off-highway requirements for motorcycles by state, rider surveys, rider training and dealer associations.
Quick Facts
- Motorcycles in use in 2023: 11.6 million units
- California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York represented just over one-third (34%) of the motorcycles in use in 2023.
- Retail outlets: 10,690
- Employees: 116,000
1The Bureau of Economic Analysis 2022 Report published on Nov. 17, 2023
