Hello infopros and thank you for the question.
The RV market does appear to be going through a boom phase at the
moment. Here are some sites and contacts to help you "measure the
strength of the current boom in usage."
A very useful site giving facts and figures on market trends.
"RV Shipments Overview
Shipments of recreation vehicles (motorhomes, travel trailers,
fifth-wheel travel trailers, truck campers and folding camping
trailers) totaled 256,800 units in 2001, about 2 percent above the
ten-year average. In 2000, RV shipments topped 300,000 for only the
second time in 22 years, despite the national economic downturn. 1999
hit a 21-year record of 321,200 units, the best RV shipments year
since 1978.
Usage
A University of Michigan study shows there are approximately 9.3
million RVs in the United States –– one in every 10 vehicle-owning
households. There are an estimated 30 million RV enthusiasts in
total, including renters.
Future
Shifting U.S. demographics will favorably impact the RV industry,
according to the University of Michigan. It is estimated over the
next decade the number of RV owning households will grow as "baby
boomers" enter the prime RV buying years of ages 45-54 and achieve
their peak earning power."
http://www.rvia.org/Media/ShipmentsData.htm
----------------------------------------
10/31/02
"Wholesale shipments of recreational vehicles were up 16 percent in
the first half of the year from the comparable period of 2001,
according to the RV association. In July, they jumped nearly 31
percent from the year-earlier month. Shipments are expected to
increase 14.6 percent for the full year."
"Sales of trailers and fifth-wheels are up 60 percent to 70 percent
compared with last year, and sales of motor homes are up about 10
percent, Olinger said. For the first few months of 2002, sales of
towable recreational vehicles were up 200 percent from the prior
year."
"The RV industry has tended to be a leader out of a recession," said
Ruthanne Williams, an equity analyst who follows the RV industry for
the Red Chip Review, a Portland-based firm that researches small-cap
stocks. "We are hoping and crossing our fingers that strong RV unit
sales . . . are a forerunner of the strength of the greater economy."
http://www.oregonlive.com/metroeast/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/metro_east_news/1035633378310551.xml
The analyst who made the above comments is Ruthanne Williams who can
be contacted at this address:
"RedChip.com
519 SW Third St., Suite 400
Portland, Ore. 97204
General e-mail address: contact@redchip.com
Main office telephone: (503) 241-1265
Toll-free main number: (800) REDCHIP (800-733-2447)
Toll-free institutional sales line: (800) 838-9248
Toll-free subscription line: (800) 721-1950
Fax number: (503) 223-1444
http://www.redchip.com/contactus.asp"
---------------------------------------
"Situation
1. Surge in sales of recreational vehicles indicates US economy on
road to recovery
2. Last July saw signs of definite improvement after 2-yrs declining
recreational vehicle sales
3. Nation's largest RV rental company, Cruise America, reported
bookings jump starting in Oct
4. Leisure & vacation alternative for anyone wanting to avoid air
travel
Significant Points
1. Sept 11 attacks stimulated interest in RVs & other recreational
vehicle sales as consumers' air flight numbers decreased
2. History shows certain sector buying surges helped economy in past,
especially when many RVs cost $100,000+
3. Many research analysts rating RV companies as "buy" stocks in wake
of attacks
4. In 1978 RV industry shipped 389,900 units
5. In 1979, w/ cars lining up at gas stations, shipments dropped to
199,200
6. Sales didn't climb above 300,000 again until 1999"
http://www.automotivedigest.com/view_art.asp?articlesID=4981
-----------------------------------------
"The market decline may have hit 90% of stocks, but the other 10% have
done well, ......" "He cites in particular" "..Thor Industries, which
makes recreational vehicles and benefits as baby boomers start to
retire."
"Thor Industries (THO ). This is a company that makes recreational
vehicles like the Airstream. This company had revenues go up 41%, and
profit was up 69%. The stock is up 149%. This is another one that
benefits from the retirement of the baby boomers, a long-term trend
that will probably go beyond the recession. They've also been doing a
number of acquisitions."
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/oct2002/nf20021022_2003.htm
----------------------------------------
"ELKHART, Ind. (Reuters) - Coachmen Industries, Inc. , a maker of
recreational vehicles and modular homes, said Monday that
third-quarter profit more than quadrupled on strong RV demand.
Net earnings were $4.3 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with
$1.0 million or 6 cents per share in the year-earlier period.
Sales increased to $179.2 million from $149.6 million in the third
quarter of 2001, reflecting strong RV shipments but softer results for
modular telecommunications structures, Coachmen said."
http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2002/10/21/rtr759983.html
------------------------------------
August 19, 2002
"Meanwhile, sales of recreational vehicle seating increased 2% for the
year, and commercial seating sales were about even with fiscal 2001."
http://www.furnituretoday.com/news/news08-19-02d.shtml
------------------------------------
April 08, 2002
"The Company said sales for the first quarter of 2002 were $66.9
million, due largely to higher-than-anticipated sales of recreational
vehicle chassis. As a result of higher sales levels, Spartan Motors
said its first quarter earnings would be higher than analysts'
estimates."
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/sigdev.asp?Symbol=SPAR
------------------------------------
RV Industry News:
http://www.rvda.org/industrynews/industrynews.htm
------------------------------------
".....said data collected last season show there is demand for new RV
Parks in the Phoenix area."
http://apolloproperties.com/repblic2.htm
------------------------------------
"The Minneapolis-based company, which performs its manufacturing in
Rochester Hills, Mich., attributed the growth to increased sales in
the North American automotive and RV market"
http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2002/10/21/daily21.html
------------------------------------
A resource that is priceless for gathering market statistics is
"Google News"
Try this:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&as_qdr=all&q=%22recreational+vehicles%22&btnG=Google+Search
You will get the latest news on any story regarding "recreational
vehicles"
------------------------------------
Thank you for the question, and if you have any questions regarding my
answer please do not hesitate to ask for a clarification.
Best regards
THX1138
Search strategy included:
"rv market"
://www.google.com/search?q=+%22rv+market%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&sa=N&tab=nw |
Clarification of Answer by
thx1138-ga
on
08 Jan 2003 10:43 PST
Hello infopros,
Yes, unfortunately I have not heard from Red Chip, but they do seem to
be one of the only companies monitoring the RV market.
Using this search strategy:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=dmv+site%3A.gov
lists many DMV departments, however after searching several of them it
is apparent that listing the number of RV registrations made is not
common (if it happens at all!)
The closest website I can find to what you want is the "Bureau of
Transportaion Statistics"
http://www.transtats.bts.gov/DL_SelectFields.asp?Table_ID=1078&DB_Short_Name=MVREG&SYS_Table_Name=T_MVREG_REGISTRATION&USER_Table_Name=Motor%20Vehicle%20Registration&Frequency=Annual&Data_Frequency=Annual&Num_Geo=1&Info_Only=0&Year_Info=1&Last_Year=2000&Origin_Field=STATE_NM&Dest_Field=&Is_Big_Table=0
But the information listed is not as up to date as you need.
Other sites that you might find useful/interesting are:
http://www.rv-links.com/
http://www.bestrate-rvloans.com/rvnews.html
--------------------------------------------
In the news recently:
Sun, Dec. 15, 2002
"Winnebagos and other recreational vehicles are expected to sell at
their highest levels in 25 years in 2003 as baby boomers retire and
more Americans opt to travel in the United States, according to an
industry study.
The report by the University of Michigan, released Friday by the
Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, predicts sales of motor
homes and travel trailers will total 323,000 next year, the most since
389,000 in 1978."
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/business/4741005.htm
January 01, 2003
"One cyclical stock did well in 2002 -- Elkhart-based Coachmen
Industries, which rose 34 percent. Recreational vehicle makers usually
get clobbered during down economies, but these stocks"
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/6/012571-7216-031.html
Thursday, December 26, 2002
"Recreational vehicles stood as a beacon in a bearish market in 2002.
The industry grew 20 percent after two years of declining shipments of
motorhomes, fifth wheels and campers.
"We've had a great year," said Dave Bane, owner of Tom Raper RVs in
north Richmond.
"Our sales are up 33 percent over last year."
http://www.pal-item.com/news/stories/20021226/localnews/652266.html
December 30, 2002
"From January through October of this year, manufacturer shipments
grew by 20.4 percent over the comparable period a year earlier"
http://www.nynews.com/newsroom/123002/D130drewstory.html
Monday December 16
"Fleetwood RV Reports a Significant Increase in Sales at the 2002 RVIA
Industry Trade Show With Over $110 Million in Orders"
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/021216/lam113_1.html
12/16/2002
"Sales are up because customers view RVs as more cost effective for
family vacations, industry analysts say. They even predict a 5 percent
gain in sales next year"
http://www.lsj.com/news/business/021216_rvs_extra_p1-2.html
In other words RV sales are up and are forecast to rise in 2003!
I hope this helps a little more
Best regards
THX1138
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