The RV shipments dropped again in August. Please remember as you read this that “shipments” do not equal “RV sales”. Shipments are just the number of RV’s leaving the manufacturing plant en-route to RV dealerships.

You can’t put a price on memories.

Results based on a survey of manufacturers determined that total RV shipments ended the month with 33,783 shipments. This is a 36.0% drop when compared to August of 2021.

Comparing the year to date numbers (2021 vs. 2022 through July); RV shipments are down 2.6% across all types of RVs, but down 3.6% across the towable models.

The August towable shipments were down overall by 41.5% over August of 2021. The exception were pop-up campers which were up 16.5%. Since pop-up campers make up such a small amount of shipments, it only took 95 more shipments to make that 16.5% increase. It would be hard to draw any conclusions around this number since these are shipments and not necessarily sales. So, is it just some dealers stocking up assuming that the high gas prices will have people more interested in lighter alternatives? Or are buyers actually moving in that direction? That information is would be hard to determine without sales numbers.

Motorized RV shipments were up 16.8% compared to the same month last year with 5,757 units. Keep in mind this segment makes up the smallest amount of shipments so it’s hard to draw any conclusions.

If you would like to read the RVIA report, click here.

So to summarize, the slowdown continues.

The new forecast by the RVIA “projects 2022 RV shipments to range between 487,300 and 510,300 units with a most likely year-end total of 498,800 units, a (-16.9%) decline from the record 600,240 shipped in 2021”. It wasn’t that long ago that the RVIA was predicting shipments of 549,900. Looking to 2023, the forecast projects shipments to range between 409,000 to 429,000 units with a most likely year-end total of 419,000, a (-16%) decline from the projected 2022 total.

So there you have it; shipments are going down, and are projected to slide further. I’m positive this is driven by high fuel prices and inflation. If you purchased your travel trailer during the last few years and now feel that you paid too much, take a deep breath. As I mentioned in my last blog regarding shipments: It is still cheaper to travel in a camper than it is to fly somewhere, rent a hotel, and eat your meals in restaurants. So, don’t panic, you are in it for the long haul, or so you should have thought when you purchased your rig. This is more of a lifestyle than it is a hobby. Don’t let this economic downturn keep you from enjoying your travel trailer. Remember you can’t put a price tag on memories.

I put some tips for saving money on my June shipments related post. Click here and scroll to the bottom if you would like to read those suggestions.

Travel Safe!