Recreational Vehicle Manufacture

The US recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturing industry consists of about 800 companies with combined annual revenue of $12 billion. Major companies include Fleetwood, Thor, and Winnebago. The industry is highly concentrated: the 20 largest manufacturers generate about 80 percent of revenue.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by consumer income and demographics, as RV buyers are mainly older. The profitability of individual companies depends on the ability to design desirable products. Large companies have economies of scale in production and distribution. Small companies can compete successfully by concentrating on a product line or by specializing in components.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products are motor homes, travel trailers, and folding (or "camping") trailers. Motor homes account for about 45 percent of industry revenue, travel trailers for 45 percent, and folding trailers for 10 percent. Some manufacturers also make "park" models, which are essentially small mobile homes.

Motor homes are complete, self-propelled units. Travel trailers are complete units that must be towed by a car or truck. "Fifth-wheel" trailers are towed from a mount in a pick-up truck and extend over the bed of the truck. Folding trailers have walls that unfold to form the camping unit. Within the motor home segment, Class A models are full-size units built on a medium-duty truck chassis, while Class C models are smaller units built on a van chassis. Motor homes range from 16 to 40 feet long.

RVs are built on truck or ...