(BRK.A), (BRK.B)
Berkshire Hathaway’s recreational vehicle manufacturer Forest River is having a stellar year, and fall sales industry-wide have leapt dramatically from the already stellar 2016 levels.
The Recreational Vehicle Industry Association ‘s October survey of manufacturers found RV wholesale shipments finished at 48,926, an increase of 26.2% from the 38,765 units shipped last October.
Those numbers improve on the 15.3% increase the 2016 numbers represented over 2015 levels, and the October 2017 shipments is the best October on comparable record, and is currently the highest monthly shipment total for 2017.
RV wholesale shipments have reached 426,932 through ten months of 2017, up 17.6% compared to the 363,051 units shipped over the same period last year.
All towable RVs, led by conventional travel trailers, totaled 43,294 units for the month, an increase of 27% compared to last October’s towable RV shipment total. Year-to-date totals for towable RV are 18.1% to 373,967 units.
October motorhome shipments are up 20.2% to 5,632 units over last year, paced by solid gains in all motorhome types. Year-to-date motorhome shipments have reached 52,965 units on 14.4% growth over the 46,285 units shipped during the same period last year.
As the year comes to an end, it looks to be a record year for Forest River, and the RV industry.
© 2017 David Mazor
Disclosure: David Mazor is a freelance writer focusing on Berkshire Hathaway. The author is long in Berkshire Hathaway, and this article is not a recommendation on whether to buy or sell the stock. The information contained in this article should not be construed as personalized or individualized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.