The RV Demand Continues

[lryrob9301]

From the Business JournalHome
Travel
A major RV maker now has more than $18 billion in backlogged orders and says its dealers may not be fully restocked until 2023

RV maker Thor Industries has a $18.07 billion order backlog.
Demand for RVs has remained strong since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO Bob Martin says it may continue restocking its dealerships into 2023.

Famed RV maker Thor Industries now has an $18.07 billion order backlog as of October 31 as demand for tiny homes on wheels continues to remain strong through the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said in its 2022 first-quarter earnings report on December 8.
Thor Industries — which owns brands like Jayco and Airstream — first saw rising sales in May and June of 2020, especially from first-time RVers, Bob Martin, Thor's president and CEO, told Insider in May 2020. Since then, interest has yet to taper off: The RV maker achieved $3.96 billion in net sales in the first quarter of 2022, a 56% increase compared to the same time last year.
Thor has now reported record net sales for three successive quarters despite labor, cost, and supply chain "challenges," which it predicts it'll still continue to face, Martin said in the earnings report. However, the RV maker has been "pretty much sold out for the next year" as dealers have "virtually no inventory," Martin told CNBC's Jim Cramer on "Mad Money" in June.
"Independent dealer sentiment remains positive and consumer demand for our RV products remains strong," Martin said in the earnings report. "The dealer restocking process will still take a number of quarters to complete and could possibly extend into calendar 2023."
To alleviate this backlog, Thor Industries acquired Airxcel, an RV parts manufacturer. Martin called this acquisition a "key piece" in Thor's efforts to bolster its supply chain.
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[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Fake news. Dealers lots are full around my county.

[Dtank]

lryrob9301 wrote:
From the Business JournalHome
Travel
A major RV maker now has more than $18 billion in backlogged orders and says its dealers may not be fully restocked until 2023

RV maker Thor Industries has a $18.07 billion order backlog.
Demand for RVs has remained strong since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
CEO Bob Martin says it may continue restocking its dealerships into 2023.

Drivel...:R

CEO Martin has been inhaling the smoke (from whatever he's smoking) - and "blowing smoke" when he exhales to a writer at "JournalHome".

I'll guess Thor will continue "restocking it's dealerships" into 2024, 2025, 2026, etc. - ad infinitum!

So much baloney - or is that bologna :@

Of course - if you're a believer - you better get your order in *quick* before they're all gone!...:E

~

[Lumpty]

Clicked on a Camping World ad that showed up in my email, since I have used them for a few on-line parts purchases where amazingly they were cheaper than PPL or Amazon.

Clicked on the “motorized” RV sales link, just to get a chuckle at the advertised prices. Given the state of the market, I’m in no hurry to replace my current Class C, but at going on 11 years old and pushing 100k miles, I will want to at some point in the future.

They’re clearly trying to draw in the noobs, offering a $2k discount on a $100k sticker entry-level 24’-er. Sounds great in the context of a $20k deal for an economy car. Wonder what would happen making an offer at the 30-33% off price many/most of us bought our current units for?

[cptqueeg]

I told CW to pound sand, the other day. I think it's been a while since they've heard that. LOL

[nickthehunter]

Since all the orders are dealer orders, who knows. The dealers could be anticipating brisk sales and wish to keep their lots full of units to sell, or they could all be orders for already sold units, or any one of a few other possibilities. Manufacturer lying, in my mind possible, but not likely, that could cause SEC troubles.

[goducks10]

Most all the lots here in Oregon except CW are very low on RV's. Every site you go to only lists a few of each model then it starts the "On Order" listings.

I think it really depends on what brands you're looking at and where they're made.

[dedmiston]

larry cad wrote:
I found this line to be particularly interesting:

"The RV maker achieved $3.96 billion in net sales in the first quarter of 2022, a 56% increase compared to the same time last year."

They already have an increase in sales for NEXT YEAR??

Maybe it's fiscal?

My company is currently in FYQ1 2022.

[RetiredRealtorR]

Plenty of RV lots packed full around here as well.

It makes me wonder if this big 'backlog' of orders are dealer orders or actual customer orders. It would be interesting to see how it divides out, but I'll bet Thor keeps that sort of information under their hat.

[larry_cad]

I found this line to be particularly interesting:

"The RV maker achieved $3.96 billion in net sales in the first quarter of 2022, a 56% increase compared to the same time last year."

They already have an increase in sales for NEXT YEAR??

[lenr]

So, it's clear that the RV dealer demand continues. Our Camping World dealer is plugged to over-flowing with units. My favorite dealer who is a zero hassle, wholesale price, dealer can't keep more than 10 units on the lot. He usually has 200 at this time. So, I agree with the above that dealers are reacting to the 2020 demand in their factory orders. It's capitalism--they get to take a guess at being right or wrong. One more year may show a little settling out in the RV industry. As said, not only Thor's competitors are thrilled at the Airxcel acquisition, but as a satisfied Coleman customer, and a dissatisfied Dometic (prior) customer, I'm a little jaded as well.

[Skibane]

To alleviate this backlog, Thor Industries acquired Airxcel, an RV parts manufacturer.

I'll bet Thor's competitors are absolutely thrilled about that.

[ferndaleflyer]

I don't know where that comes from. Right here in central NC the lots are all packed, Just spent a week in Myrtle Beach, SC and every lot I saw going, coming, and while there was full. Went to Baltimore MD 6 weeks ago and every lot I saw was full. One area north of Richmond was solid RVs of every shape and kind on both sides of I-95 for over a mile---what do you call a "shortage"?

[bgum]

Back before Thanksgiving we traveled from south Louisiana to Knoxville TN to Boston MA and back and there were no shortages on the dealers lots.
Now if we were talking about automobiles that would be a different story. Around here the new car dealer lots are very thin.

[BB_TX]

Recently took a 600+ Mile round trip from north of Dallas to Texas hill country and back. Passed a lot of Rv dealers and every one had full lots of new units. Sure didn’t look like any shortages. Can only guess dealers, anticipating continued high sales, have ordered a lot of new units that are ordered but not yet built and delivered making them “backlog”.

[jdc1]

Camping World had a field day after the fires up here in NoCal. They sold almost all the larger trailers they had to the state to house the fire and mitigation crews. This is an ongoing thing up here, with no housing available for the fire victims or work crews that are clearing the land. There was a huge shortage of trailers from the start of September until now. With the snow falling now, they may have to put the work off until spring, easing the trailer situation up here.