Thor Industries is roaring into the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 – which ends July 31 – showing third-quarter sales of $2.02 billion.
This story by Ben Quiggle originally appeared in The Elkhart Truth.
But that growth is too much for the Elkhart area handle, so the RV manufacturing giant is setting its sights outside Elkhart for expansion due to a shortage of workers locally.
According to a press release, third-quarter net income sat at $111.3 million, a 41.6 percent increase over the same period during fiscal year 2016, while gross profit increased 45.5 percent to $293.8 million. Company officials say the significant increase in income and sales is mainly attributable to strong towable and motorized recreational vehicle sales, along with the addition of Jayco in June 2016.
Thor President and CEO Bob Martin noted that the RV industry has seen a surging popularity in RVs and the RV lifestyle, and that the company continues to make strides in expanding manufacturing capacity to meet market conditions and product demands.
Consolidated RV backlogs more than doubled to $2.36 billion, versus 2016 third quarter results of $1.06 billion, driven by continued strong consumer demand for affordably priced travel trailers and motorhomes. Backlogs include orders that Thor still has to produce.
Thor is also focusing expansion efforts outside of the city of Elkhart to hopefully minimize the impact of labor challenges the company is facing.
Expansion efforts have been focused on Howe, Middleburry, and Goshen, Martin said.
But Thor is still hoping to keep much of its manufacturing in Elkhart County or towns nearby.
