Strong shipment numbers continue to point to 2016 as the year the RV industry surpasses its 2006 peak as the best year since 1977, according to the RV Industry Association’s most recent issue of roadsigns.
Shipments totaled 118,091 in the second quarter, an increase of 11.9 percent from 2015. Conventional travel trailer shipments rose 13.9 percent, accounting for 65 percent of all second quarter shipments.
RVIA estimated that total shipments for the year will reach 405,300, an 8.3 percent gain over 2015. The favorable outlook continues into 2017, with 411,000 shipments expected.
Slower sales of more expensive units are expected, however, due to expected gains in home values and stock prices as well as uncertainty about future economic policies.
“The expansion will be driven by buyers who choose smaller and less expensive units, and will become the repeat buyers of larger units in the future,” the report said.