for folks who follow the industry, this is news .... both Thor and Forest River are huge companies that have an ongoing competition to be the biggest seller in the industry .... the top 4 selling trailers brands through June of this year are :
Jayco Jayflight
Salem
Wildwood
Rockwood
for those who may not know, Forest River's Salem and Wildwood lines are produced in the same plant, the difference is decals .... so, Forest River has three of the top four selling lines
"ELKHART — Once again, the two largest players in the recreational vehicle industry, Elkhart’s Forest River Inc. and Thor Industries, are running neck-and-neck, with Forest River announcing Friday, Sept. 20, that it reached the top retail spot in the U.S. in July.
The company pointed to the July 2013 report by retail tracking firm Statistical Surveys Inc. showing that with motorhomes and towable RVs combined, “Forest River Inc. ranks No. 1 with 34.35 percent market share, representing 7.4 percent market share growth year to date over the same period last year. Thor Industries ranked No. 2 with 33.9 percent market share and Jayco Inc. ranked No. 3 with 10.8 percent market share,” Forest River said in a written announcement.
That means that those three Elkhart County companies held more than 79 percent of the retail RV market for the first seven months of the year.
“While we are certainly pleased to earn the No. 1 position in the RV industry, we are humbled by this accomplishment and remain focused on the continuous improvement of our products and services,” said Pete Liegl, president and CEO of Forest River Inc., in the announcement. “Our commitment to the satisfaction of our retail owners and to providing the absolute best value in the RV industry has only strengthened with our success.”
In the class A and class C motorhome market, Forest River had 25.2 percent of the market through July with Thor at 24.6 percent and Winnebago at 18.3 percent, according to Forest River. However, if class B motorhomes, the ones built on van chassis, are factored in, Thor ranks No. 1 in the motorhome market, according to Statistical Surveys.
In consolidated towables, Forest River had 35.5 percent of the retail sales for the year through July, with Thor just behind at 35.1 percent and Middlebury-based Jayco at 11.4 percent. "
Jim