(June 4, 2018) — RV industry shipments will reach 539,900 units in 2018, marking nine straight years of growth and – for the second consecutive year – the highest annual total since such data has been collected.
According to a press release, the figure is a 7% increase from the previous record of 504,600 units shipped in 2017. Shipments for 2019 are predicted to grow to more than 550,000 units, which would be a third straight record-breaking total.
The new forecast, along with first quarter 2018 industry shipment totals, was announced June 4 by Frank Hugelmeyer, president of the RV Industry Association (RVIA), as part of remarks he delivered at the association’s Committee Week luncheon.
Shipments totaled 137,086 in the first quarter of 2018, an increase of 13.4% from 2017. Among other RVs, growth was highest among truck campers (up 69%), and travel trailers (up 15%). Motorhome shipments saw steady growth with Class C shipments reaching their highest total since the early 1980s.
“This is the longest period of sustained growth the RV industry has seen,” said Hugelmeyer. “Our manufacturers and suppliers are justifiably proud of shipment gains made year-after-year for nearly a decade.”
He added, “These increases are attributable to factors we can control, such as ongoing product innovations, and those we can’t, such as recent growth in wages and household wealth.”
The favorable RV outlook is based not only on continued modest gains in key economic indicators, but also on the increasingly favorable population trends that will manifest themselves over the next several years.
RVIA reported that the number of Americans between 55 and 74 years old, always a sweet spot for the RV industry, will reach 79 million in 2025, 15% higher than that age group totaled in 2015. And 72 million Millennials, who are beginning to embrace the RV lifestyle, will be 30-45 years old in 2025.
SOURCE: RVbusiness.com
We see all RV dealers are fully packed with new units. Lots are so full that moving one out looks like a lengthy project. Are all of these actually going to sell or will the dealers suffer when they can’t sell them? Maybe the record sales numbers are on the backs of the dealers.
Who is winning because of these numbers, the RV dealers or the banks financing them all for 7 to 10% loans over 10 to 20 years. I can understand maybe financing if your living in it like a house but to pay all that interest on an asset that in 5 years will be worth a fraction of the money paid. Common sense says when the economic bubble bursts and it will it’s going to be a mess for the buyers and manufacturers. IMHO
It’s pretty scary to figure out where people are going to use these RV’s..as there is not enough RV parks to accommodate all of them.The entire RV industry has turned into fast buck artists selling poorly built RV’s at grossly inflated prices.
What would be very NICE, is to report on How Many Of THESE large RV Shipments are actually moving off the Dealer Lots. My guess is not as many as everyone seems to think.
If you remember, most dealers have to accept at least a minimum number of RV’s from various manufacturers in order to remain dealers for that BRAND. Usually the number is between 4 and 6 units per model. That is why you are seeing 500k shipments. But, are all these RV’s being SOLD? The answer is NO! Most will sit on dealers lots for a year or more, until the dealer is forced to basically sell them for at or below cost, just to get them off the lots.
Eventually the RV Bubble will burst and RV Shipments will slow and eventually dry up.
The main problem is all the fools who are paying these exorbitant prices for cheaply built RV’s and later they will pay even more to fix all the junk the RV industry is pumping out for a fast buck.BUYER BEWARE.