Reuters: RV Industry Steers through Post-Pandemic Slump

The U.S. economy may ultimately skirt a recession, but it’s felt like one for months at Jon Ferrando’s 103 RV dealerships, according to a Reuters report.

Retail sales of recreational vehicles are on track to be the lowest since 2015, said Ferrando, CEO and president of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Blue Compass RV, which operates in 33 U.S. states. There’s “definitely a recession in RVs,” he said.

Blame the coronavirus pandemic. Few industries better illustrate the wild shift in U.S. spending habits that occurred during the health crisis.

In a matter of months, consumers stuck at home cut spending on services, as restaurants shuttered and airports turned into ghost towns, and began splurging on goods, especially items like RVs, bicycles, and swimming pools. Anything that made quarantine conditions more tolerable saw a massive surge in demand.

Click here to read the full Reuters report, which also quotes Winnebago Industries CEO Michael Happe, LCI President Jason Lippert, and RV Industry Associatoon Spokeswman Monika Geraci, Ball State University Economist Michael Hicks, and former RVBusiness Partner Gregg Fore.

Source: https://rvbusiness.com/reuters-rv-industry-steers-through-post-pandemic-slump/