RV industry professionals had a great 2017 and are equally optimistic in their outlook for 2018, based upon a survey RV PRO magazine undertook of its readers in early November.
Some 222 readers took the survey.
Some 73 percent of readers polled said sales (year-to-date through November) increased compared to the same period 2016, while 21 percent of respondents said sales stayed the same from the previous year. Only 6 percent of readers said business decreased (see Figure 1).
Asked by RV PRO to identify by what percentage their sales were up or down for 2017, about 65 percent of readers polled said their business increased somewhere between 10 and 30 percent compared to the same period in 2016 (see Figure 2). An additional 10 percent of readers said business was up by 40 percent or more.
Meanwhile, 16 percent of readers polled said sales were unchanged between 2016 and 2017. At the same time, 6 percent of readers said sales were down by up to 10 percent, while an additional 3 percent of readers said sales were down by 20 percent or more.
While nearly three quarters of readers polled said sales increased in 2017, survey respondents by an overwhelming 85 percent said they were able to keep up with demand (see Figure 3).
Looking ahead to 2018, readers are strongly optimistic on their prospects to make sales, with some 80 percent saying they believe sales will be up for the year compared to 2017 (see Figure 4).
