RV Industry Shipments down 40%

[Loboclone]

RVIA: Shipments For January Incur 39.8% Decline (2/25/2019)

Story by RVBusiness

The RV Industry Association's (RVIA) January survey of manufacturers found that total RV shipments ended the month with 25,540 wholesale shipments, a decrease of 39.8% from the 42,441 units shipped last January.
Towable RVs, led by conventional travel trailers, totaled 21,623 units for the month, a decrease of 41% compared to last January’s total of 36,622 units.
Motorhomes finished the month with 3,917 units, down 32.7% compared to the January 2018 total of 5,819 units.
Park Model RVs finished the month up 12.6% compared to last January with 330 shipments to retailers.



Is the Party over?

[Midnightmoon]

Interest rates having an effect on sales possibly?

[Bookemdanno]

Very interesting. This was not evident when I was at the Dallas RV show on Saturday. Lots of units had already been sold and I saw a bunch of folks placing orders with the sales folks. The line to get in the show was out the door too.

[ALJO]

Well good news for RVers: when sales/production declines, quality goes up. (The craftsman stays and the don't cares get booted)

[TCNashville]

Maybe I'll be able to find a campsite now?

[RPR]

I would look at figures for the 1st three months of 2019 to get a better look at new production changes. Look at used sales also. Lot of used inventory sitting out there. Used unit may look more appealing to buyers now with tax law changes, things fixed already by previous ownwer and young people living in a stationary unit.

[DocBrown]

You can't have record sales every year. Many people who wanted a new trailer in the last 5 years are not looking for a newer one right now.

[Chiggins]

Probably has something to with weather. With the harsh winter they had to shutdown ALOT.

[wags999]

I agree, weather had much to do with this. Shut downs and not being able to deliver units due to weather.

[redsnapper]

Or it could be that word is getting out that RV manufacturers are putting out a substandard product and people are protesting that with their feet......walking away

[grampscamper]

I'm finding it very difficult to find campsites now. It's somewhat frustrating having to book a year or more in advance for popular areas. I know someone that purchased a 5th wheel 2 years ago and sold it last year. They said it wasn't what they expected. They found it was difficult finding nice campgrounds that weren't already booked far in advance. In addition RV's are a very high maintenance item.
A slowdown in the industry may not be a bad thing.

[wags999]

Originally Posted by redsnapper

Or it could be that word is getting out that RV manufacturers are putting out a substandard product and people are protesting that with their feet......walking away

From what I have been told it's a delivery issue not an order issue. Last year was a record year for the industry, this year will still be one of the best ever, tho perhaps a tad less than last year. Overall happiness with RV's are still high, but more units means potentially more issues even if it is a lower %.



Dealers are selling whatever they can get their hands on, traffic at dealers is still high.



With 10,000 folks retiring every day, if only 1/2% purchase an RV it's a huge amount.

[Crabman]

RV orders were slowing before this report.



https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...bit-61506.html

[GarlicDude]

I wonder if the tax law changes are the cause of some of the slowing?

[redsnapper]

For me, it's a love/hate relationship.

On one hand, it's great people have enough money to spend on an RV.
A sure sign of consumer confidence in the economy and the likelihood of a good economy continuing.

On the other hand, campgrounds are often at capacity, and sitting on the date when a reservation can be made and hitting the "make reservation now" button, the minute the time limit is open.
Long wait times at a dealer.....often weeks and weeks upon end.
Higher demand means higher prices.....equals higher service prices and parts prices.

I am out west.....a major destination for many RV'ers. Out of state plates are more common than in state!!

I feel very fortunate to be able to plunk down a barrel of cash for a low end Jayco model.....beats the hell out of a Coleman tent and cooler.

[Kahoneys]

We have seen the new models out there and think that we have a great model and with our alterations think it is better than the new ones. They seem to be taking features out of the new and replacing with less expensive and less desirable features to us.

I too hope that it will be easier to get campsites for many years to come.

[Nature Ist]

I cannot say my current situation confirms what this report implies: We ordered a new Jayco HT 30.5 CKTS on December 8th and after waiting almost 3 months I have finally been told it will be built in early April! It will be over 4 months from order date to delivery date! If shipments are down, it's not for lack of orders!

[sirrealone]

When I was at the RV show last fall, almost every salesperson I spoke to said that prices were going to go up 10-15% because of the new tariffs. I don't know if this actually happened, but if MSRP went up across the board, I would expect that this would impact sales.

[Mad Cow]

The wife and I have been eyeballing Park Models lately. That will most likely be the direction we will go. Actually from what I have seen thus far, the Park Models are a pretty good value for what they offer. Not talking about the Bungalow type trailers, but full blown Park Models like the Forest River Quailridge and other similar "mini mobile homes".

[GraftonGuns]

I can hear the Fat Lady singing.......