NEWS RELEASES
Drop In RV Shipments Raises Fears In Elkhart
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through South Bend Tribune's website.
ELKHART, Ind. — The September results of RVIA’s monthly market report are in and the numbers are creating concern among Elkhart County officials as well as economists, the South Bend Tribune reports. The new RVIA (RV Industry Association) report found wholesale shipments down 29 percent (from 43,598 units in 2017 to 30,969 units 2018) compared to last September, across all RV types. Shipments also fell in August and June, but remain 0.2 percent ahead of last year’s pace. Towables and motorhome shipments were both down in September, with only Type B camper vans showing an increase (23 percent).
Elkhart County Commissioner Mike Yoder told South Bend Tribune's Ed Semmler that it's his belief that the current decline in shipments has more to do with overproduction at the front end of the year, rather than a decline in demand. “Demand for RVs was off the charts for several years,” he said. “Now it’s come back to earth.”
Ball State economist Michael Hicks told the paper that factors including higher interest rates, a volatile stock market and tariffs could make consumers leery of spending, especially on a big-ticket discretionary item such as an RV. He points out that Indiana has now had three consecutive months of negative growth in manufacturing employment. “The last time that happened was April, May and June of 2009,” he said. Layoffs have not yet affected Elkhart County, however, as the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was 2.4 percent in September, still among the lowest in the state.
Read the complete RVIA September Market Report here.