The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) conducts a monthly shipments-research program that represents between 60 and 100 percent of all gasoline-powered hand-held shipments and between 75 and 100 percent of all commercial turf care shipments. The OPEI Marketing Services Committee provides consensus estimates for all original equipment manufacturers that do not participate in the shipments program based on member shipment report data and their knowledge of the industry.

During the 2005 model year (September 2004-August 2005), shipments of total gasoline-powered hand-held products grew 4.7 percent reaching 13.2 million units. Each product category experienced different market fluctuations with some categories growing by as much as 27.9 percent (pole pruners), and others declining by 4.8 percent (hand-held blowers). Overall, most product categories experienced solid growth compared to the previous model year.

For the 2005 model year, OPEI estimates that more than 291,000 commercial turf outdoor power equipment units were shipped — a decrease of 1.9 percent from last year. A slight increase in total riders comes partly from double-digit growth in the front-mounted riding units. This is significant because of the fact that this is the first year mid-mounts have decreased in many years.