Craig Kirby, president and CEO of the RV Industry Association, posted this state-of-the-industry letter to the association’s website.
Dear RV Industry Association Members,
With kids back in school and fall’s arrival, I thought it would be good to send a note recognizing the incredible success the RV industry continues to experience – nine straight months of record RV shipments is something none of us could have imagined. It is a true testament to the hard work of everyone in the RV industry, and the ability for every segment to be agile in responding to the many challenges we have seen across supply chain and in keeping up with unwavering consumer demand for RV products.
While it is disheartening that we cannot be together at the Elkhart Open House due to local COVID-19 concerns, all signs point to continued demand and a strong market for all RV categories for the foreseeable future. In fact, our recently released RV Roadsigns report, produced for RV Industry Association members by our partner ITR Economics, is calling for over 577,000 units to ship in 2021, a 14 percent increase over the previous record of RV shipments in 2017. Looking ahead to 2022, ITR is forecasting RV shipments for the year to top 600,000 units – a never-before-seen level for our industry. These are truly remarkable numbers, and they highlight the incredible 40-year growth our industry has experienced since we shipped 106,000 units back in 1980.
The RV industry continues to build products that bring so much joy to so many consumers. All summer long, campgrounds and parks have been alive with happy families of RVers, and the research and bookings show that trend continuing well into the fall across the country. Together as an industry, we must maintain our focus on providing fantastic customer experiences at every touch point – it is the key to making today’s RV customer an RV customer for life.
In closing, my hope is that while we officially say goodbye to summer this week, you can take a few moments to appreciate all the exceptional work the industry has done to drive our collective successes, and the role each of you play in delivering so much happiness to so many families.
Thanks for your continued support of the RV Industry Association and our initiatives.
Sincerely,
Craig