Is the worst behind us?

September 29, 10:12 AMRV Travel ExaminerKeith Bennett

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This morning (09-29-09) Fox Business is reporting the following:

Stocks of recreational-vehicle and boat-building companies rose on Monday after results from August showed the first positive sales month for the industry in three years.

 RV sales hadn’t been positive since July 2006, according to Thompson Research Group analyst Kathryn Thompson, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The gainers included Thor Industries (THO: 32.01, 3.52, 12.36%).
 

 

September will be an interesting month to review as it could show a 'trend' if sales continue with positive results.  Regardless, much of the market momentum is based on how people feel and this type of news will help with the mental part of the game.  This writer believes that the worst is behind us and that a recovery is no longer debatable but the conversation is now the rate of recovery.

 UPDATE from UPI:

Published: Sept. 29, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Order reprintsRESTON, Va., Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Sales of recreational vehicles jumped 16 percent in August from July – good news for the industry and the economy, some economists say.

Costing between $50,000 and $300,000, recreational vehicles are seen as one of the largest discretionary purchases on an American consumer's shopping list, USA Today reported Tuesday.

If the U.S. consumer can afford an RV, it might be said, how bad can the economy really be?

In August, sales jumped to an adjusted annual rate of 209,800 vehicles, the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association said.

That rate is 136 percent higher than the annual sales rate in January, although it is about half the pre-recession sales pace.

Numbers are encouraging enough for Airstream to increase production 30 percent in the past month and a half. RV maker Keystone RV is hiring an additional 200 workers to handle the increased demand, the newspaper said.

"It would suggest the worst of the (stock market) decline seems to be over, and the consumer is in a position to come back," said Morton Marcus, an economist who studies the RV market.
 

Happy Camping

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