RV Makers Brace for Production Impacts Amid Tariff Threat – RVBusiness – Breaking RV Industry News
ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. – Not only has President Trump stamped a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel, we are now in a pause on tariffs placed on Mexico and Canada, according to a report by WSBT-TV, the CBS affiliate in South Bend, Ind.
Those tariffs are on pause for at least a month. Both sides of the border are huge contributors to RV manufacturing in Michiana. Elkhart County produces nearly 80% of the global RV supply.
One of those manufacturers in Elkhart, Gulf Stream Coach, is the largest family owned RV business. They say if these tariffs are greenlit on March 1, the cost will fall on buyers and employees.
The President of Gulf Stream Coach, Phil Savari, says he has been making calls to partners in Canada because not only would a tariff impact demand for RVs, most of which are made in Elkhart, it would also leave Canada to reciprocate the tariff and raise the cost of supplies that are needed to build the RVs here at home.
“Probably, if the tariffs go through, not only the people in Canada but the people in the United States here are going to have to look at lowering prices and you know to balance the offset of costs, and margins won’t be as successful as we all would like,” said Savari.
Click here to see the complete video and transcript at WSBT-TV.
