7,056 New HUD-Code Homes Shipped in March 2016

The March 2016 shipment number of 7,056 is significant as it is the first time since October 2008 that monthly shipments have exceeded seven thousand homes. In fact, the last time that the month of March had more than seven thousand homes was also March of 2008. One month is not a trend. However, the rolling six month average shipment number through March 2016 is now 6,244 versus 5,253 in March 2015.

In March 2016, 7,056 new manufactured homes were shipped, an increase of 25.8 percent from March 2015, and an increase of 895 homes or 14.5 percent compared to February 2016. The trend reflected gains across the board, with shipments of single section and multi-section homes up by 21.4 percent and 30.0 percent respectively, compared with the same month last year. Total floors shipped in March 2016 were 10,889, an increase of 27.3 percent compared with March 2015.

Compared with the prior year, 2016 has recorded shipment increases in every month. For the first three months of this year, shipments totaled 18,986 homes compared with 15,330 homes in 2015, a net increase of 23.8 percent.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of shipments was 88,499 in March 2016, up 2.6 percent from the adjusted rate of 86,281 in February 2016. The SAAR corrects for normal seasonal variations and projects annual shipments based on the current monthly total.

The number of plants reporting production in March 2016 was 123 and the number of active corporations was 37, both unchanged from the previous month.

MHI members can click here to access the March 2016 report.