With the economy appearing more stable, cautious affluent retirees are beginning to looking at higher end RVs again while midrange customers are shopping for smaller and less expensive units.
A Des Moines Register article says:
An estimated 15,000 people are expected to file through the Varied Industries Building this weekend to look at vehicles, from massive motor homes to 12-foot towable trailers. Industry officials and stock analysts said the once-ravaged RV business is still a long way from its 2004 peak. But signs continue to point skyward, at least slightly, after a disastrous 2008 and early 2009.
Statistics from the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association show wholesale shipments of RVs peaked at 390,500 in 2004, then fell 59 percent to about 159,500 in the next five years.
Shipments in December from manufacturers to dealers were up 150 percent compared with December 2008, according to a report from analysts R.W. Baird & Co. last week. Industry numbers predict deliveries will grow nearly 28 percent this year, from 159,500 last year to 203,500 in 2010.
Read the rest of the Des Moines Register article.
