| The Recreational
Vehicle Industry Association reported wholesale shipments of 16,900
units in August, down 44.4% from the same period in 2007. Motorhomes sales
continue to be the hardest hit, down 65.3% from 2007. Motorhome shipments have been
hardest hit because of tightening debt (story)
and fuel prices.
According to the RVIA and Dr. Richard
Curtin, Director of Consumer Surveys at the University of Michigan, RV
shipments will again decline in 2008 due to higher credit standards,
falling household wealth, slower growth in real incomes, and diminished
consumer confidence. Shipments in 2008 were expected to be the
eighth highest in the past 25 years, totaling approximately 305,000
units (down 13.6% from 2007), but it is unlikely that the industry will
ship 110,000 units in the remaining four months of the year. Year to date, actual wholesale shipments are down
22.7% compared with the same period
in 2007. Shipments for 2008 will most likely end up around 275,000
units, which would make 2008 the lowest year since 1998.
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