The October 2021 survey of manufacturers conducted by the RV Industry Association (RVIA) revealed that the total RV shipments finished the month with 57,971 units.
This is an increase of 22.5 percent compared to 47,326 units that were shipped in October 2020. This October was also the highest on comparable record, with shipments exceeding over the October 2017 total of 48,926 units, by nearly 18 percent. The month’s total surpassed production on a comparable record for any month, beating the previous month’s record of 55,014 units by more than 5 percent.
With this latest report, 2021 officially becomes the year the RV industry built more RVs than ever before–and that is with two months left in the year,” said RV Industry Association President & CEO Craig Kirby.
“Despite the challenges we have faced with supply chain and workforce, what is really remarkable is the way the RV industry has found ways to overcome the issues and deliver 12-straight months of record shipments. We know more and more people want to get outdoors and experience the joys of RVing with their friends and families, and our manufacturers and suppliers have responded impressively to keep more and more RVs heading to dealerships every month.”
The latest shipment report is a follow-up to the recent survey that revealed more Americans are planning to travel this year than any time before. The survey found 72 million Americans plan to travel next year using an RV they own, rent, or borrow. This is an 18-percent increase over the 61 million in last year’s survey.
Towable RVs, led by travel trailers, finished the month with a gain of 23.3 percent compared to October last year, with wholesale shipments of 52,856. Motorhomes had a gain of 14.4 percent compared to the same month in 2020 with 5,115 units. In the first ten months of 2021, there have been 510,608 RVs constructed, which is a 1.2-percent increase over 2017’s full-year record of 504,599. The industry is poised to exceed or even surpass 2021’s forecast of 577,200 shipments.
Meanwhile, park Model RVs closed the month with a gain of 6.3 percent compared to October 2020, when 354 wholesale shipments were recorded.
Click here to view the whole shipment report.