The RV industry entered 2026 expecting a third straight year of growth. Instead, manufacturers have shipped fewer RVs in every month through July than they did during the same month in 2025.
July extended the streak with 19,948 shipments, an 11.9% decline from the previous July, according to the RV Industry Association’s latest report. Through the first seven months of 2026, shipments were down 13.9%.
The industry has endured much steeper declines before. The unusual part of the current downturn is when it arrived: just as the market appeared to be recovering from its post-pandemic collapse.
What the Shipment Numbers Actually Measure
The RV Industry Association tracks wholesale shipments, meaning new RVs sent from manufacturers to dealers. These figures do not represent sales to consumers.
A decline in shipments means fewer new units are moving from factories to dealer lots. The reports do not show exactly how many RVs shoppers purchased or how many unsold units remain in dealer inventory.
Seven Straight Months of Declines
Every monthly shipment total in 2026 has fallen below the same month in 2025. These are year-over-year comparisons, not seven consecutive month-to-month drops.
| Month | Change From 2025 |
|---|---|
| January | -10.7% |
| February | -11.1% |
| March | -13.9% |
| April | -17.4% |
| May | -18.7% |
| June | -13.1% |
| July | -11.9% |
The declines have ranged from 10.7% in January to 18.7% in May, based on RVIA’s monthly shipment reports. By the end of July, manufacturers had shipped 183,592 RVs, compared with 213,338 during the same period last year.
Towable RVs have accounted for much of the weakness. Travel trailer shipments were down 15.7% through July, while fifth-wheel shipments had fallen 19.5%.
Motorhomes followed a different pattern during the first half of the year. Despite a 25.6% drop in July, total motorhome shipments remained 5% higher for the year because of earlier gains in Class B and Class C models.
Has the RV Industry Seen Worse?
Yes. Historical shipment records show two declines that were far deeper than the one unfolding in 2026. The Great Recession cut annual RV shipments by more than half, while the correction following the pandemic-era boom erased nearly 48% of shipment volume in two years.
| Period Compared | Earlier Total | Later Total | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-year 2007 vs. full-year 2009 | 353,400 | 165,700 | -53.1% |
| Full-year 2017 vs. full-year 2019 | 504,600 | 406,000 | -19.5% |
| Full-year 2021 vs. full-year 2023 | 600,240 | 313,174 | -47.8% |
| January through July 2025 vs. January through July 2026 | 213,338 | 183,592 | -13.9% |
The historical figures come from the RV Dealers Association’s wholesale shipment records, which cite RV Industry Association data.
The first three rows compare full-year shipment totals at the beginning and end of two-year periods. The final row compares the same seven months in consecutive years. Using January through July for both years removes the effect of normal seasonal changes, but it does not show how large the current downturn will be once 2026 is complete.
Publicly available annual records also do not identify the longest streak of monthly declines. They do show that the current 13.9% year-to-date drop remains well below the industry’s worst downturns.
What Makes This Downturn Different
The latest decline began before the industry had recovered much of the ground lost after 2021. Annual shipments fell from a record 600,240 units to 313,174 in 2023, a reduction of nearly 48% in two years.
A modest recovery followed. Shipments increased 6.6% in 2024 and another 2.5% in 2025, reaching 342,220 units.
Expectations remained positive at the beginning of 2026. In March, the industry’s spring forecast projected a midpoint of 349,000 shipments, which would have marked a third consecutive year of growth.
That projection did not last. The summer forecast lowered the midpoint to 314,000 units, cutting 35,000 shipments from the earlier estimate. The outlook had shifted from modest growth to an expected annual decline of 8.2%.
If the revised forecast proves accurate, 2026 shipments will finish just 826 units above the industry’s 2023 total. Most of the gains recorded during the past two years would be erased.
RVIA attributed the weaker outlook to softer consumer demand, higher financing costs, continued inflation, economic uncertainty and pressure on household budgets.
Not the Worst, but Still a Warning Sign
The RV industry has seen larger declines than the one unfolding in 2026. The Great Recession caused a much deeper collapse, and the correction following the pandemic-era boom was more severe.
This downturn carries a different concern. It arrived after only two years of limited growth, before the industry came close to regaining its 2021 shipment volume.
Seven straight year-over-year declines do not make 2026 the worst period in RV industry history. They do show that the recovery manufacturers expected has stalled.
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