By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
modendahl@etruth.com
WAKARUSA -- Rod Martin, general manager at DeMartini RV Sales, could hardly keep up with the phone calls and e-mails as well as customers visiting on Friday.
The dealership sells Monaco Coach Corp. and Winnebago motorhomes and is about a block from the production plant that Monaco announced it is closing Thursday. Many of the callers to the DeMartini dealership wanted to know what would happen when Monaco moves forward with its plan to close three facilities in Elkhart County and cut its workforce by about 1,400.
"It's so new, I don't think anybody knows what to expect exactly," Martin said Monday afternoon. "I don't know what effect it will have."
As RV dealers have tried to lower their inventories, the days of manufacturers getting orders for 40 units at one time from one dealership are over. Business is slow on many RV sales lots and dealers are skeptical if anything can be done to bolster consumer confidence.
"I wish I had an answer," said Phil Ingrassia, vice president of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association, "but it's a little more complicated than cash-back like all the car manufacturers do."
Through April 2008, dealers were averaging a 207-day supply of motorhomes on their lots, according to data from the RVDA. That average is up from the 188-day supply during the same period in 2007 but down from the high of the 246-day supply reached in August 2007.
Towables are at more comfortable levels. Through April 2008, the average was a 77-day supply, down from an 84-day supply in 2007.
The DeMartini lot on Nelson's Parkway has not been a ghost town, Martin said, but sales are slower and customers who normally purchase a new motorhome every three years are now waiting four years. People are uncertain and no incentives will convince them to buy.
"I don't think you can force a market that's not there," Martin said. "It just has to go through the period of whatever is going on."
Two days after the Monaco news broke, Ansley RV in Duncansville, Pa., sold four RVs and delivered six, said Bill Ansley, shareholder in the dealership. The Saturday prior to that, the business had a good day, selling eight RVs.
Looking at his revenue through June, Ansley notes sales are off more than 11 percent and he can understand why manufacturers are downsizing. More important, he is not worried about the RV makers scaling back so far they will not be able to get enough product out the door to meet demand.
"If you want product," Ansley said, "you can get it. If there's a spot in the country, they'll fill it up pretty quick."