RV Industry Sees Demand Rise Despite COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite Indiana’s rising unemployment numbers because of the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the state’s economy, northern Indiana’s RV industry is running at near capacity.

That’s because new RVs are selling faster than manufacturers can make them.

According to the RV Industry Association (RVIA), the industry trade organization that tracks RV production for the industry, May was a busy month at RV dealers across the country. Sales were brisk, outpacing supplies of new units.

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The news comes as a surprise to some since the U.S. economy is showing signs of shrinking and the RV industry typically is the first industry to feel the effects of an economic upheaval. But the difference this year, said Monika Geraci, the senior manager of marketing strategy and operation for RVIA, is that the coronavirus pandemic has made many consumers cautious of air travel, cruise ships and hotels, and that they now see RVs as a safer mode of travel and better vacation alternative.

“As we emerge as a nation from today’s stay-at-home orders, it is clear that consumers want to get outdoors again,” she said.

Geraci said dealers from across the country tell the RVIA from the first moments those dealerships reopened following stay-at-home orders, customers have flooded sales lots. And many of those customers are first-time RV buyers.

Industry research shows because of the pandemic, people still want to travel but they are opting to stay closer to home. They also want to have control over their personal environment and how they come into contact with other people.

Check out the full article from The Elkhart Truth here.