Since I am close to Elkhart, IN. I hear or see on the news when things are happening both positive or negative. Keystone is closing two plants in Goshen that will effect about 300 jobs. It was stated that gas prices, economy and the huge sale of RV's in the past two years has slowed their production. Wondering if other plants of different manufactures will follow suit.
Keystone RV Closing Two Plants in Goshen, IN
- Thread starter camperAL
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Arch Hoagland
Well-known member
I think others will soon follow.
DonTom
Well-known member
Yeah, kinda expected. The high gas prices are great for EV sales, buy lousy for RV sales.
And then everybody and his brother bought a new RV in last couple of years during the COVID thing.
Even me.
-Don- Auburn, CA
Martian
Well-known member
In about three to six months it will be time for great deals on lightly used recent RV's. There is an upside to everything.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The RV industry is recognized (in financial circles) as a bell-weather for the economy. Or at least for the buying public's view of the economy. New RV sales are one of the first things to take a nose dive when the economy starts going sour and the first to recover when things begin to look up again. Smart RV companies know when to hunker down and try to survive.
steveblonde
Well-known member
Funny thing is RV shipments to dealers is up this year over last year. The bubble had to burst
Kirk
Well-known member
Keystone plans to close two Goshen plants
and from the South Bend TribuneAt the retail level, there’s more evidence of a slowdown — at least compared to the blistering pace that was set in the immediate aftermath of the beginning of the pandemic when consumers sought out RVs, boats and other types of outdoor recreational that were deemed safer than other activities.
Even though RV shipments have remained relatively strong through the first half, retail registrations of RVs already have begun to slide, dropping 23.5% through May compared to the first five months of 2021 in the United States and Canada, according to Grand Rapids-based Statistical Surveys Inc.
Cameodon
Well-known member
Me too, and I will never buy new again! ESPECIALLY if you have to go thru Keystone for service.
SMR
Well-known member
When we were Elkhart this past spring for warranty work....., our friends drove us by the Amazon distribution center they are building in Elkhart. IIRC he said about 1000 new jobs.
From the South Bend newspaper
"The Elkhart area will likely have to look outside its borders to find the estimated 1,000 workers needed at a massive 800,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center along the Indiana Toll Road and a smaller delivery station that’s being built near the Elkhart Municipal Airport."
From the South Bend newspaper
"The Elkhart area will likely have to look outside its borders to find the estimated 1,000 workers needed at a massive 800,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center along the Indiana Toll Road and a smaller delivery station that’s being built near the Elkhart Municipal Airport."
Reinigm
Well-known member
It's the same with boat sales. They have a tendency to dive in bad times.
Reinigm
Well-known member
Whenever I see that someone is opening a large plant like this, I wonder where they are going to find the employees. That's something I'm wondering about with the so called "Inflation Reduction Act" Congress is trying to pass. Where do you find 87,000 qualified people to be IRS agents? Makes no sense to me.
Lou Schneider
Site Team
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Sounds like a good seasonal Amazon CamperForce opportunity coming up.
seems like they should be switching over to produce delivery bodies.
DutchmenSport
Well-known member
I have no intention to buy or sell another RV. I'll keep what I've got. It's 100% paid for, eating no hay, but giving me lots of joy now. Hopefully, if there is an "Exodus" in RV sales, there will also be an "Exodus" from campgrounds too, making reservations and simple walk-in's much easier.
BrunoMTP
Well-known member
I'm thinking more like six months to a year out. By then the Fed will have raised interest rates enough, and for long enough, to permeate through the economy significantly impacting large credit purchases.
Completed units? Or almost completed units needing a part or 2? Vehicle manufacturer lots are filling up with units needing a computer module lacking a vital chip. I know it isn't just chips that are hard to come by as a manufacturer either.
UTTransplant
Well-known member
We were in Red Bay, AL near the Tiffin plant getting some work done in May. There were hundreds of units that were completed except for one or two or three missing components. They all had a paper stuck to the inside of the front windshield identifying the missing item(s). The lists included things like ACs and cooktops, among other items. I can’t even imagine the inventory carrying cost of hundreds of Class As (and a few fifth wheels) just sitting there. The supply chain issue is real, though it is getting better.
