Conditions in the recreational vehicle sector remain "dreadful," an analyst said Tuesday, citing recently released data on RV shipments.

Robert W. Baird's Craig Kennison said RV wholesale shipments fell 39 percent in July, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. Motorhome shipments, meanwhile, slid 56 percent and towable shipments declined 36 percent, he said.

"July trends are consistent with ... our view that a dealer inventory correction is needed across most categories as demand remains weak and dealers aim to increase turns," Kennison wrote in a note to investors.

He cautioned against attaching too much weight to a single month's reading, however, as "data tend to fluctuate from month to month."

The RV sector has been battered recently due to soaring fuel prices, a weak credit market and deteriorating consumer confidence. Shares of RV makers have posted double-digit declines this year.

Shares of Monaco Coach Corp. closed Monday at $2.49. Winnebago Industries Inc. finished at $11.23. Thor Industries ended at $22.25. Fleetwood Enterprises closed at $2.21.

There are about 5 RV's in the Tampa bay area that are on the side of the road for sale by owner. They get about 8 mpg and so they cost about $500.00 to fill up and the range is awful so it would be obvious that the sector is in trouble. I wonder how the RV owners and makers feel about their anti-gay marriage,anti-flag burning and anti-stem cell research vote now.

Thanks for the post Karand this one hits home with me as this is the industry iam in, all my drivers are definatly feeling the pinch right now, some of them are down to 1 or 2 trips a month when they usually run steady, hopefully this dont take to long to come around

Given that I do not believe gas will ever get to an affordable price, say $2.50, I would think that there would be more and more RVs not being used

heck, people here in CA have enough trouble trying to make mortgage payments