What RVs Say About The American Economy

It looks like 2017 is going to be a good year for the American economy:

Elkhart County is the capital of the recreational-vehicle (RV) industry, with 65 percent of all RVs made in the county, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. And right now, the recreational vehicle industry is doing very, very well. “We’re going gangbusters,” Wes Bogan, marketing director of RV company Thor Motor Coach, told me on a tour of the factory where the vehicles are assembled. The RV industry predicts that 2017 will be a banner year, with manufacturers shipping a record 438,000 units, up 4.4 percent from 2016… RV sales turn out to be a pretty good predictor too: When RV sales are doing well, the economy follows; when RV sales tank, the economy is soon to tank too.