Fleetwood reduce travel trailer manufacturing capacity
RV Business < RVs and RVing  <  Roaming Times

Roaming Times - RV business news

Links - consumer reports, motorhome reviews and news, trailer and 5th wheel reviews and news, classifieds

Fleetwood logo

Fleetwood reduce travel trailer manufacturing capacity

Fleetwood announced on May 3, 2007, preliminary sales for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended April 29, 2007

You can read the full press release here, but the following are some key aspects of their announcement of travel trailer plant closures:

  • The 12 percent decline in the fourth quarter recreational vehicle sales reflects difficult market conditions that particularly impacted both travel trailers and folding trailers. Travel trailer revenues fell 49 percent to $81 million, or by 35 percent excluding last year's FEMA sales of $33 million. Folding trailer revenues were down by 13 percent to $20 million. Backlogs for both towable divisions continue to be down significantly from last year

  • "The beginning of the spring selling season in the RV industry has been softer than we had expected," said Elden Smith, Fleetwood's president and chief executive officer

  • "The fourth-quarter decline in our folding trailer sales was also slightly better than industry shipment trends, but the reverse is true in travel trailers," Smith continued

  • "We have taken additional steps to reduce our travel trailer manufacturing capacity. Yesterday, we notified our associates of the impending closure of our Canadian travel trailer manufacturing facility in Lindsay, Ontario, and the immediate closure of our facility in Campbellsville, Kentucky"

  • "Previous moves to rationalize production allow us to produce a simplified array of products in our remaining five plants, with each specializing in a specific market segment. We are also producing fewer floor plans, which will further improve efficiencies and reduce costs. These actions will put additional short-term pressure on our national market share, but we believe that this manufacturing footprint will enable us to compete more effectively in important geographic and market segments."

Latest RVing news headlines   

What do you think?  Add your comments below ...

   

Readers comments:

John :   As an owner of a Fleetwood Ultra Lite Lynx 725 I was totally surprised when I phoned the support line just recently to find a dealer that would still work on their units and was basically told that there were basically NO support dealers close to me anymore because of their closing of the Canadian operations. This is disheartening for me as I now feel that I've been abandoned with an RV that is only 3 years old! What happened to my so-called long lasting roof warranty and so called dealer network across the country??

Fleetwood Associate :   You people are fools. Fleetwood is moving their shops to Mexico, they already have one there and OH BIG SUPRISE they close down 5 in the U.S. to save cost, they are putting their foot in the door to go outside the country while not having to pay huge oversea shipping cost which would be idiotic. Fleetwood is in a bind and going down like a rock.

John Boy :   Maybe Fleetwood will learn from this and resume making a quality product. We had an Advantage for three troublesome years and finally traded it for a Montana. The people in Longview were never helpful in resolving quality issues and the dealer dropped the Fleetwood line.

Ken Crabtree :   The reason Fleetwoods sales are down is because of poor quality and service. They do not have much repeat business.

Ron Morris :   I agree I have had 2 Fleetwoods and I've loved them both. I think they make a wonderful RV and am also saddened that they are closing plants.

Happyfleetwoodowner :   As a owner of a Canadian Built trailer i am very sad to read this. I am very proud of my Fleetwood Wilderness/Weekender bult here in Ontario. To boot the people of Linsy always get the dirty end of the stick. They're always losing much needed jobs. Not "fair to them" . Why don't thay make some scaled down models in Linsy. My trailer is a base ecno model they should for this year make only the ecno mod's & get more people into them, then they up grade. Im impressed with the fit & finish with my ecno/wilderness CK180 mod. have had it only a year so far and love it. I live in Toronto, & I hope thay don't close the plant here in Ontario, Scale down on mods being bult (fewer floor plans)/make ecno trailers/or make parts to ship ot other plants. I got my trailer at the 2006 spring trailer show. (a show specal). When i go camping i always have people ask me about my trailer,& when they hear the price thay want one , thay want to get rid of there older model. I know that I have sold some fleetwood show specals just by telling people about my trailer. (and didn't even get paid for it!) I dont want anything for it. I just beleve in Fleetwood. For there price fit & finish. A happy but sadened Fleetwood owner.

Add your comments:

Your comments*

Your name (the name that will be seen)*

Your real name (not shown)

Your email (not shown)

Title*

See what people say about Fleetwood RVs


Search RoTi Consumer Reports

Search 

Other RoTi news items about this company or subject:

Fleetwood sells folding trailer division

04/30/2008

"The folding trailer division has not proven to be particularly synergistic with the rest of our RV businesses"
Fleetwood sales down 11%

7/12/2007

Fourth quarter fiscal 2007 results, sales down but "We have created a more cost-efficient structure" and gaining market share
Fleetwood deliver 100,000th coach

5/5/2007

Fleetwood delivers the 100,000th motor home from its Decatur, Ind. motorhome manufacturing facility
Fleetwood close travel trailer plants

5/3/2007

Closure of travel trailer manufacturing facility in Lindsay, Ontario and Campbellsville, Kentucky announced
Fleetwood sales down

5/3/2007

Spring selling season "softer than expected" - 4th quarter fiscal 2007 preliminary results
Fleetwood introduce new Class C's

4/30/2007

New for 2008: "Value-priced" Class C - Tioga Ranger and Jamboree Sport
Fleetwood - the price is right

4/2/2007

For the 20th year contestants on the daytime game show 'The Price is Right!' will compete for Fleetwood RVs ..
RoTi reviews of new RVs

section

There is at least one new RV review in the new RV review section for the term you searched.
RoTi RV consumer reports

section

Motorhome, travel trailer, fifth wheel consumer reports and reviews.
Fleetwood reports loss

3/8/2007

Travel trailer sales "disappointing", motorhome sales up - 3rd quarter fiscal 2007 results
Fleetwood RV sales

2/1/2007

Fleetwood RV sales in general down, but motorhome sales up - latest results
Founder of Fleetwood dies

1/12/2007

John Crean, founder of Fleetwood Enterprises, died Thursday January 11th 2007 at the age of 81.

     
Search for previously-owned Fleetwood RVs

Search

Search the latest
2000 ads on RoTi

[../consumer/newrvs/include.htm]

See also:  RV Business Blog

Selling an RV      Buying an RV  

RV Consumer Reports and new vehicle reviews