RV Shipments Just Fell to Their Lowest August in More Than a Decade

The RV industry just received another sign that the recovery many expected in 2026 still has not arrived.

According to the latest RV Industry Association shipment report, RV manufacturers shipped 23,599 units to dealers in August. That was down 16.4% from August 2025 and, based on historical RVIA shipment data compiled by RV News, was the lowest August total since at least 2015.

That makes August the latest unusually weak month for an industry that has spent much of 2026 waiting for buyers to return in greater numbers.

RV shipments are now down 14% for the year

The August decline was not an isolated dip.

Through the first eight months of 2026, manufacturers have shipped 207,191 RVs, according to the RVIA survey results. At the same point last year, they had shipped 241,550.

That puts wholesale shipments 14.2% behind 2025 heading into the final four months of the year.

August also stands out when compared with recent years.

Manufacturers shipped 28,212 RVs in August 2025, 29,105 in 2024 and 28,071 in 2023. Even August 2015, the earliest year included in RV News’ historical comparison, finished higher at 27,335 units.

The current slowdown has been showing up for several months. RV News’ 2026 shipment tracking shows that May shipments fell to their lowest level for that month since 2009, while July produced fewer than 20,000 shipments and was also one of the weakest Julys in more than a decade.

Towable RVs took the biggest hit in August

Towable RVs continue to make up most of the market, so weakness there has an outsized effect on the overall numbers.

The August RVIA report shows manufacturers shipped 20,790 towable RVs during the month, a decline of 16.9% from a year earlier.

Motorhome shipments also fell, but not quite as sharply. Manufacturers shipped 2,809 motorhomes, down 11.7% from August 2025.

There was one small exception. Park model RV shipments increased 5.8% in August and are up 21.8% so far this year, although that category represents a much smaller portion of the overall market.

These aren’t RV sales to consumers

One distinction is worth making.

RVIA’s monthly report tracks wholesale shipments from manufacturers to dealers. It does not count RVs purchased by consumers.

Still, manufacturers do not build and ship RVs in a vacuum. Production levels are closely tied to dealer inventories and expectations about retail demand.

That makes the latest numbers particularly interesting following comments this week from THOR Industries, the world’s largest RV manufacturer.

In its latest fiscal-year results, THOR President and CEO Bob Martin said the retail market during the company’s 2026 fiscal year “never reached the inflection point many in the industry expected.” He pointed to high interest rates, fuel costs, and inflationary pressure as factors weighing on household budgets and RV demand.

THOR also reported that inventory at its independent dealers was down 11.5% as of July 31 compared with a year earlier. The company said it has been closely managing production against those inventory levels.

In other words, manufacturers are not simply sending the same number of RVs into a weaker market. Production and shipments are being pulled back as dealers work through inventory.

The expected RV recovery keeps getting pushed back

Plenty of reasons point to the RV market eventually improving.

The enormous pandemic-era sales boom ended years ago, dealer inventories have been reduced, and manufacturers have been introducing more lower-priced models aimed at buyers struggling with affordability.

But the 2026 numbers show that the rebound has yet to translate into stronger industry-wide shipments.

THOR went as far as describing the RV industry as being in an “extended down cycle” in its latest earnings release. The company said it is restructuring parts of its North American business and trying to protect more attainable prices for consumers rather than simply passing higher costs along.

August’s shipment report provides further evidence of that cautious approach.

One weak month says little on its own. But with shipments down 14.2% through August, several unusually weak months already on the books, and manufacturers openly discussing soft retail demand, the industry’s long-awaited recovery remains difficult to find in the 2026 numbers.