In the past few years and more recently in 2016 we have seen huge fluctuations in the CAD/USD exchange rate. As many of our customers are aware the RV industry is primarily built in northern Indiana; thus making RV dealers the direct importer of the product, which directly affects the price of trailers.
Being that in the last few years we moved from a par dollar to a few months ago 68 cent dollar and now holding between .76 and .78 the roller coaster has been amazing to say the least. I often hear that well we are going to wait because they believe the dollar will get better or that the price of trailers is up over 25% from a few years ago. On the surface these points may be the case. However I think we need to look a little deeper.
General expert opinion that for the next few years we will be looking at an exchange rate in the high seventies to low eighty cent range
The first point to look at is the exchange rate itself. The general synopsis of current bank and expert material is the United States economy is heating up and on a continuous growth swing; coupled with world economic turmoil the Green Back’s strength is going to remain. Not to say there will not be fluctuations, but it is the general expert opinion that for the next few years we will be looking at an exchange rate in the high seventies to low eighty cent range. Thus RV prices will remain were they are for the foreseeable future.
The retail price change in trailers is not a direct connection to the percentage change in the dollar. First, the exchange rate only affects the dealer cost of the trailer; second, many dealers hedge or participate in future contracts when trading US dollars and third many dealers will cost average or reduce margins to help compensate for fluctuations in retail price. These factors combined significantly reduce the effect of exchange rate fluctuations have on retail prices.
It has been a hot beautiful summer and consumers should just get out and enjoy the family vacation they want and let the dealers worry about the exchange, we want to earn your business and will do our best to reduce the impact of such fluctuations so you can enjoy your vacation time with a new trailer.