RV Industry Wraps up Best Year in a Decade
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowEconomic Development Corp. of Elkhart County Chief Executive Officer Mark Dobson says continued positive developments suggest innovators in the recreational vehicle sector are finding ways to "carve the future lows out of the industry." The Virginia-based Recreational Vehicle Industry Association’s new annual report says shipments in 2015 were the highest since 2006. The industry numbers follow this morning’s announcement that a subsidiary of Middlebury-based Jayco Inc. plans to pump $5.6 million into a LaGrange County unit and add 65 jobs.
The industry finished the year strong with more than 28,000 units shipped during the month to complete its best December since 2005. For the year, RV shipments totaled nearly 375,000, an almost five percent increase compared to 2014. RV shipments have risen year-to-year annually since the end of the recession.
Dobson says many factors have come together to boost the industry, including improved supply chain efficiencies and management, more consumers entering their prime spending years and a string of industry consolidations. According the EDC, Elkhart County ranks 2nd in the state and 14th in the nation in terms of its work force connected to the manufacturing sector. RV production isn’t the only industry factored into those figures, but the Elkhart County Convention & Visitors Bureau says half of all RVs on the road today were built in the county. The RVIA says about 81 percent of all RVs shipped each year are made in Indiana.
You can connect to a monthly and annual report from the RVIA by clicking here.
Economic Development Corp. of Elkhart County Chief Executive Officer Mark Dobson tells Inside INdiana Business “you’re just seeing a lot of really good factors all coming together at the right time.”