Where is my RV?
It’s difficult to find an area of our lives that COVID-19 hasn’t affected. The pandemic is also the reason RV prices are going up. To start, manufacturers are facing significant increases for input materials (think aluminum and stainless steel). Naturally, when production costs go up, it trickles down to you. Overall, manufacturing’s rising costs are impacting big-ticket items like cars, trucks and RVs. Beyond directly affecting production, the price of transporting everything has also increased.
So how much more can you expect to pay? It depends on your preferred brand and what product you want to buy, and since manufacturers set the retail price in most cases, you can expect to see the increased cost on many RVs no matter which retailer you go to. If you’re in the market for a new RV you’ll also be up against a stock shortage.
Supply chain issues started in China — a country that’s home to many parts manufacturers — more than a year ago. Then, as the pandemic spread, it impacted America’s Midwest and southern states. Mexico, another major parts supplier, has also been affected. Social distancing protocols reduced efficiency and production output in factories and warehouses around the world.
Production is starting to ramp up again, but there’s another bottleneck in the supply chain: shipping containers. As exports begin to pick up, products are filling shipping containers faster than they can be transported, causing backlogs that then contribute to increased cost and longer wait times.
What you may find surprising is that the RV stock shortage is linked to the global computer chip shortage as well. Various reasons contributed to it, but the U.S.–China trade war started it and the pandemic escalated it. That shortage is now starting to ripple through the RV supply chain, and it’s pushing back production on many items.
The final piece of the stock shortage puzzle is demand. RV supply chains were not designed to quickly recover. In fact, the supply chain is close to a year by the time a manufacturer places an order with a supplier, receives the parts and makes a product.
Overcoming price increases and shortages
If you’re thinking of buying an RV in the near future, now might be a good time to make your purchase. Triangle RV’s sales team can help you navigate some of the challenges. Realistic expectations will go a long way when shopping. Are you really set on your dream RV? If so, be aware that you may have to wait — an item’s in-stock status can shift depending on the manufacturer’s ability to make and ship.