The total number of RV shipments in September was a total of 24,700 units, that is a decrease of 12.9% when compared to the 28,363 units shipped in September 2022. Year to date shipments are down (-42.8%) with 238,121 units. Click here to look at the numbers on the RVIA site.

The numbers are a sleeper!

The towable RVs, travel trailers, fifth wheels, pop-ups, and truck campers were down (-7.6%) from last September with 21,385 shipments vs 23,133 in September of 2022.

However, the big news is really the over all Year To Date numbers when compared to 2022. The outlook here is bad news for the RV Industry. The RV Shipments are down 45.3% over last years numbers at this point in time.

There is no doubt looking at the numbers that June, July, and August were basically a plateau, and now September is again moving downwards.

If you can remember back to the July report, I had said it would take a miracle for the RVIA to have their projection of 400,000+ units shipped in 2023. I would say that at this point they will be lucky to get to 300,000 units. So this is a big miss on their 2023 projection.

The RV industry is a good reflection of what is happening in this economy. High fuel costs along with high inflation rates, and high interest rates are having an impact. The new RVIA forecast projects 2024 RV shipments to range between 363,700 and 375,700 units. This total would represent a 22 -24 percent increase over the new expected 2023 year-end range of 287,200 – 307,000 units. These 2023 low shipment numbers have not been seen since 2013. Also, keep in mind that shipments do not equal sales. Given this decline I believe that we will start to see dealerships pulling back on their inventory.

I am going to go our on a limb and say that the 2024 numbers above will not materialize. I see nothing positive happening with the economy that would cause that type of an increase.

Also impacting sales is the reputation that the RV industry is building and it is not a good one. Quality complaints are still rampant. This has been an ongoing issue for a long time. So, if you own a travel trailer, you should be handy…or know someone who is!

If and when the RV industry decides to put quality first, the consumer will follow and be happy to pay more for it.

As this year winds to an end, be kind to your travel trailer and make sure you have prepped it for the winter ahead to avoid any nasty surprises in the spring.