Show attendance may signal changing tide for RV industry

The 47th annual National RV Trade Show kicked off on December 1 in Louisville, Kentucky, with some positive reviews offering hope to the industry.

According to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, this year's day one attendance was up 1.2 percent over last year to 7,508 people.

Although individual dealer registrations were down 2.8 percent, some that were there said that consumer traffic and sentiment seem to be up and that it could signal a turnaround for the industry.

"Last year, dealers were in a financial meltdown, but this year it's a lot different. Dealers are feeling very optimistic," said Ron Fenech, president of Keystone RV Company.

Ned Collins, CEO of A-Liner added that, "Traffic is up. We wrote more orders in the morning than we did in three days last year. Dealers are very optimistic."

According to WNDU.com, there have been increases in sales from 15 to 25 percent since April, and that's expected to keep rising. Many struggling manufacturers who cut production to deal with declining demand are now ramping it up and turning out new models.