I thought it would be interesting too, here's a recent report by the Hobby Manufacturers Association for the US. They have diecast and plastic lumped together, but it gets us in the ballpark?...
2010 ESTIMATED SIZE OF U.S. HOBBY INDUSTRY IS $1.47 BILLION
April 26, 2011. The Hobby Manufacturers Association Board of Directors has just released the findings of its 2nd Size of the U.S. Model Hobby Industry Study which was conducted in the fall of 2009 and shows actual sales for 2009 and estimated sales for 2010.
“HMA member manufacturers and distributors reported that 2010 model hobby product sales were estimated to be
$1.471 billion with actual 2009 sales of $1.379 billion,” announced Mike Bass (Stevens International), HMA President.
The estimated sales in the individual product segments as compared to the 2007 projections are:
2010 2007
Model Railroad $424,770,000 $409,500,000
Plastics & Die Cast $305,777,500 $259,100,000
Radio Control $362,912,500 $357,900,000
General Hobby $377,637,500 $247,600,000
The HMA Size of the Model Hobby Industry projection based upon 2009 ACTUAL manufacturing and distributor sales of participating model hobby companies is reported to be $1.379 billion overall. This is an 8.6% increase in overall sales over the 2006 projected sales volume of $1.192. This increase in sales, despite a significant recession which impacted the model hobby industry toward the end of 2009 and into 2010, is due in large part to an increase in the number of companies who reported sales in categories over $10M. Based on the standard average markup on manufacturer and distributor sales reported to be 40% to 50%, the estimated size of the hobby industry at retail would be between $2.5-3.0 Billion.
The study was conducted by the University of Louisville School of Business via an online questionnaire survey tool, Survey Monkey. All data was transmitted anonymously through this surveying device to protect the confidentiality of responding companies. The survey was designed to give the industry valid statistics for business use by HMA members, lending institutions, potential new entrepreneurs and industry retailers.
“We received a 39% participation rate among the surveyed companies of HMA,” said Bob Staat, chair of HMA’s Education Committee which oversaw the research project. “We want to thank all our member companies and exhibitors for answering the questionnaire,” added Staat.
An Executive Summary of the Study will be sent to all members and participating companies and will be available online shortly. The report includes demographic information on consumer usage, advertising and promotion tips, and the scope of hobby products worldwide.
For additional information about the Study, visit www.hmahobby.org or call the HMA office at 973-283-908