A variety of RVs sit in the Great Hall at the Valley RV & Camping Show at Century Center in downtown South Bend earlier this year. (Greg Swiercz / South Bend Tribune / January 18, 2013)
Two local RV dealerships believe they are headed for a record year in sales.
And based on the latest national numbers, that's probably not a surprise.
Based on the April figures released Tuesday by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, wholesale shipments of all RVs were up 10.8 percent over March and were 19 percent better than April 2012.
Last year was the third straight year of increased RV shipments, and April marked the 16th consecutive month of increased shipments compared with the same month a year prior.
And since dealers don't order RVs unless they believe they can sell them, shipment numbers are generally representative of sales numbers in the industry.
More than 82 percent of all of the nation's RVs are produced in northern Indiana. The industry employs 24,000 people in northern Indiana in both the manufacturing and supply sector.
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