Nearly 80 percent of marine industry participants expect sales to increase between five and ten percent this year, according to survey results released today by GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance (CDF). That’s up from 54 percent who expected growth in that range last year, and almost double from the 43 percent two years ago.

The marine industry also sees improvements in terms of employment and capital expenditures. Eighty-four percent plan to increase the size of their company’s workforce and 78 percent expect their firm’s capital expenditures to be greater than last year.

The marine industry has grown steadily since the dramatic downturn in 2009. Fifty percent of survey respondents expect this recovery to continue for the next two to three years, while another28 percent think it will continue for the next three to four years.

GE Capital’s survey was conducted at the Industry Leadership Conference, which was held in conjunction with the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), at the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show on Feb. 11. The respondents are a variety of marine industry participants, including manufacturers, dealers and suppliers.