Recreational Vehicles

Gains will be fueled by a rebounding economy, increased consumer confidence, improved discretionary spending, a healthier financing environment and favorable demographic trends.

US demand to rise 4.8% annually through 2017

The US recreational vehicle (RV) market is expected to increase 4.8 percent annually to $10.7 billion in 2017. The market contracted sharply in the 2007-2012 period, affected by the 2007-2009 economic recession and its resulting rise in unemployment, drop in credit availability, and deterioration of general financial markets. Following this collapse, the industry has begun to improve but will not approach pre-recession total sales for another decade. Going forward, a rebounding economy will support increased consumer confidence and improved discretionary spending. That, coupled with a healthier financing environment, should spur sales of recreational vehicles. Advances will be further aided by demographic trends, including continued growth in the 55 to 64-year-old cohort, the traditional purchasers of recreational vehicles, as well as rising interest among younger customers. Competition from a vast used recreational vehicle market will restrain further growth to a degree.

Motor homes, camper/camping trailer segments to grow the fastest

Recreational vehicle demand will grow the fastest in the motor home and camper and camping trailer segments, as sales of both will rebound from the double-digit annual declines of the 2007-2012 period. However, neither segment is expected to reach pre-recession levels in the next decade. Technological advances that improve fuel economy and ease of handling, coupled with the inclusion of a growing array of entertainment and comfort options, will also propel sales. The improvement in demand for travel trailers will be less dramatic since sales were better supported over the recession, as these types are typically more affordable than self-propelled versions. Trailers are also available in a variety of sizes and styles amenable to those seeking more basic accommodations and those wanting home-like amenities on the road. Sales of conversion vehicles, however, are projected to continue a long term downward trend in light of competition from class B motor homes and the availability of many similar features in conventional vans and sport utility vehicles.

Sales rebound supported by high-end market

Gains in value terms will outperform those in unit terms for all types of recreational vehicles as prices continue to rise. Much of the rebound in sales will continue to be supported by the high-end market as more affluent consumers demonstrate ongoing preference for recreational vehicles with high-tech accessories and more home-like amenities.

Study Scope

This study analyzes the $8.5 billion US RV industry. It presents historical demand data for 2002, 2007 and 2012, and forecasts for 2017 and 2022 by product (e.g., travel trailers, motor homes, conversion vehicles, campers and camping trailers) and regional market (e.g., Northeast, Midwest, South , West).

The study also considers market environment factors, details industry structure, evaluates company market share and profiles 28 industry players, including Thor, Forest River and Winnebago.

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  1. Recreational Vehicles

    $4,900.00

    1. 1 INTRODUCTION

      $119.00

    2. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

      $140.00

      1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE SUPPLY & DEMAND

    3. 3 MARKET ENVIRONMENT

      $1,887.00

      1. 3.1 General

        $82.00

      2. 3.2 Macroeconomic Outlook

        $154.00

        1. Table | MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS

      3. 3.3 Demographic Trends

        $180.00

        1. Table | POPULATION & HOUSEHOLDS

      4. 3.4 Consumer Trends

        $379.00

        1. 3.4.1 Personal Income & Expenditure Patterns

          $125.00

          1. Table | PERSONAL CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES

        2. 3.4.2 Recreational & Leisure Expenditures

          $82.00

          1. Table | RECREATION & LEISURE EXPENDITURES

        3. 3.4.3 Consumer Financing

          $148.00

          1. Table | CONSUMER FINANCING ENVIRONMENT, 2002-2012

      5. 3.5 Recreational Vehicle Consumer Profile

        $131.00

      6. 3.6 Recreational Vehicle Retail Environment

        $119.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE RETAIL SALES

      7. 3.7 Pricing Patterns

        $124.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE PRICING

      8. 3.8 Historical Market Trends

        $142.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE MARKET, 2002-2012

        2. CHART II-1 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE MARKET, 2002-2012

      9. 3.9 Recreational Vehicle Stock

        $85.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLES IN USE

      10. 3.10 World Recreational Vehicle Market

        $278.00

        1. 3.10.1 Canada

          $82.00

        2. 3.10.2 Western Europe

          $82.00

        3. 3.10.3 Asia/Pacific

          $82.00

        4. 3.10.4 Rest of World

          $82.00

      11. 3.11 US Foreign Trade

        $264.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLES FOREIGN TRADE

        2. 3.11.1 Exports

          $100.00

          1. CHART II-2RECREATIONAL VEHICLE EXPORTS BY DESTINATION, 2012

        3. 3.11.2 Imports

          $82.00

          1. CHART II-3 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE IMPORTS BY SOURCE, 2012

        4. 3.11.3 Trade by Product

          $82.00

          1. CHART II-4 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE EXPORTS BY PRODUCT, 2012

          2. CHART II-5 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE IMPORTS BY PRODUCT, 2012

    4. 4 MATERIALS

      $857.00

      1. 4.1 General

        $82.00

      2. 4.2 Engine Type

        $338.00

        1. Table | SELF-PROPELLED RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND BY ENGINE TYPE

        2. 4.2.1 Gasoline

          $82.00

        3. 4.2.2 Diesel

          $82.00

      3. 4.3 Exterior Construction Materials

        $276.00

        1. 4.3.1 Wood

          $82.00

        2. 4.3.2 Aluminum

          $82.00

        3. 4.3.3 Fiberglass

          $82.00

        4. 4.3.4 Composites

          $82.00

        5. 4.3.5 Steel

          $82.00

        6. 4.3.6 Other

          $82.00

      4. 4.4 Chassis

        $82.00

      5. 4.5 Technology

        $120.00

    5. 5 PRODUCTS

      $2,686.00

      1. 5.1 Supply & Demand

        $115.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE SUPPLY & DEMAND

      2. 5.2 Demand by Product

        $93.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND BY PRODUCT

        2. CHART IV-1 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND BY PRODUCT, 2012

      3. 5.3 Travel Trailers

        $566.00

        1. Table | TRAVEL TRAILER SUPPLY & DEMAND

        2. 5.3.1 Demand by Type

          $365.00

          1. Table | TRAVEL TRAILER DEMAND BY TYPE

          2. Table | CONVENTIONAL TRAVEL TRAILER DEMAND

          3. Table | FIFTH-WHEEL TRAVEL TRAILER DEMAND

        3. 5.3.2 Producers & Market Share

          $117.00

          1. CHART IV-2 TRAVEL TRAILER MARKET SHARE, 2012

      4. 5.4 Motor Homes

        $815.00

        1. Table | MOTOR HOME SUPPLY & DEMAND

        2. 5.4.1 Demand by Type

          $612.00

          1. Table | MOTOR HOME DEMAND BY TYPE

          2. Table | CLASS A MOTOR HOME DEMAND

          3. Table | CLASS B MOTOR HOME DEMAND

          4. Table | CLASS C MOTOR HOME DEMAND

        3. 5.4.2 Producers & Market Share

          $115.00

          1. CHART IV-3 MOTOR HOME MARKET SHARE, 2012

      5. 5.5 Conversion Vehicles

        $260.00

        1. Table | CONVERSION VEHICLE SUPPLY & DEMAND

        2. 5.5.1 Demand by Value & Unit

          $82.00

          1. Table | CONVERSION VEHICLE DEMAND BY VALUE & UNIT

        3. 5.5.2 Conversion Costs

          $82.00

        4. 5.5.3 Producers

          $82.00

      6. 5.6 Campers & Camping Trailers

        $553.00

        1. Table | CAMPER & CAMPING TRAILER SUPPLY & DEMAND

        2. 5.6.1 Demand by Type

          $401.00

          1. Table | CAMPER & CAMPING TRAILER DEMAND BY TYPE

          2. Table | FOLDING CAMPER TRAILER DEMAND

          3. Table | TRUCK CAMPER DEMAND

        3. 5.6.2 Producers & Market Share

          $82.00

          1. CHART IV-4 CAMPER & CAMPING TRAILER MARKET SHARE, 2012

      7. 5.7 Accessories

        $284.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE ACCESSORY SUPPLY & DEMAND

        2. 5.7.1 Navigation & Electronic

          $175.00

        3. 5.7.2 Other Separately Sold Components

          $82.00

    6. 6 REGIONS

      $1,609.00

      1. 6.1 General

        $82.00

      2. 6.2 Regional Demographic & Economic Trends

        $281.00

        1. 6.2.1 Regional Population Outlook

          $124.00

          1. Table | POPULATION BY REGION

        2. 6.2.2 Regional Economic Outlook

          $127.00

          1. Table | GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT BY REGION

      3. 6.3 Demand by Region

        $88.00

        1. Table | RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND BY REGION

        2. CHART V-1 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND BY REGION, 2012

      4. 6.4 Northeast

        $233.00

        1. Table | NORTHEAST RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        2. 6.4.1 New England

          $82.00

          1. Table | NEW ENGLAND RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        3. 6.4.2 Middle Atlantic

          $82.00

          1. Table | MIDDLE ATLANTIC RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

      5. 6.5 Midwest

        $332.00

        1. Table | MIDWEST RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        2. 6.5.1 East North Central

          $88.00

          1. Table | EAST NORTH CENTRAL RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        3. 6.5.2 West North Central

          $83.00

          1. Table | WEST NORTH CENTRAL RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

      6. 6.6 South

        $338.00

        1. Table | SOUTH RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        2. 6.6.1 South Atlantic

          $96.00

          1. Table | SOUTH ATLANTIC RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        3. 6.6.2 East South Central

          $82.00

          1. Table | EAST SOUTH CENTRAL RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        4. 6.6.3 West South Central

          $84.00

          1. Table | WEST SOUTH CENTRAL RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

      7. 6.7 West

        $288.00

        1. Table | WEST RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        2. 6.7.1 Mountain

          $101.00

          1. Table | MOUNTAIN RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

        3. 6.7.2 Pacific

          $93.00

          1. Table | PACIFIC RECREATIONAL VEHICLE DEMAND

    7. 7 INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

      $4,931.00

      1. 7.1 General

        $82.00

      2. 7.2 Industry Composition

        $108.00

        1. Table | US RECREATIONAL VEHICLE SALES BY COMPANY, 2012

      3. 7.3 Market Share

        $233.00

        1. CHART VI-1 RECREATIONAL VEHICLE MARKET SHARE, 2012

      4. 7.4 Competitive Strategies

        $162.00

      5. 7.5 Product Development

        $149.00

      6. 7.6 Manufacturing

        $195.00

        1. 7.6.1 Technology Trends

          $82.00

        2. 7.6.2 Regional Concentration

          $82.00

      7. 7.7 Marketing

        $194.00

        1. 7.7.1 Brand Awareness & Loyalty Marketing

          $118.00

        2. 7.7.2 Lifestyle Marketing

          $82.00

      8. 7.8 Channels of Distribution

        $107.00

      9. 7.9 Mergers & Acquisitions

        $82.00

        1. Table | SELECTED ACQUISITIONS & DIVESTITURES

      10. 7.10 Cooperative Agreements

        $82.00

      11. 7.11 Company Profiles

        $4,931.00

        1. 7.11.1 Allied Specialty Vehicles Incorporated

          $601.00

        2. 7.11.2 Amadas Coach Corporation

          $82.00

        3. 7.11.3 Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated

          $666.00

        4. 7.11.4 Columbia Northwest Incorporated

          $82.00

        5. 7.11.5 Drew Industries Incorporated

          $223.00

        6. 7.11.6 EverGreen Recreational Vehicles LLC

          $158.00

        7. 7.11.7 Explorer Van Company

          $82.00

        8. 7.11.8 Fairmont Homes Incorporated

          $119.00

        9. 7.11.9 Foretravel Incorporated

          $102.00

        10. 7.11.10 Garmin Limited

          $87.00

        11. 7.11.11 Jayco Incorporated

          $372.00

        12. 7.11.12 Lance Camper Manufacturing Corporation

          $100.00

        13. 7.11.13 Navistar International Corporation

          $98.00

        14. 7.11.14 Newmar Corporation

          $165.00

        15. 7.11.15 NuWa Industries Incorporated

          $82.00

        16. 7.11.16 Pleasure-Way Industries Limited

          $121.00

        17. 7.11.17 Rear View Safety Incorporated

          $82.00

        18. 7.11.18 Rexhall Industries Incorporated

          $82.00

        19. 7.11.19 Roadtrek Motorhomes Incorporated

          $128.00

        20. 7.11.20 Sherrod Vans Incorporated

          $109.00

        21. 7.11.21 Skyline Corporation

          $102.00

        22. 7.11.22 Tadibrothers LLC

          $82.00

        23. 7.11.23 Thor Industries Incorporated

          $739.00

        24. 7.11.24 Tiffin Motorhomes Incorporated

          $145.00

        25. 7.11.25 Timeless Travel Trailers LLC

          $82.00

        26. 7.11.26 Universal Trailer Corporation

          $133.00

        27. 7.11.27 Van Specialties Incorporated

          $82.00

        28. 7.11.28 Winnebago Industries Incorporated

          $309.00

      12. 7.12 Other Companies in the Recreational Vehicle Industry

        $82.00

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