4,531 Manufactured Homes Shipped in September 2009, Down 34.6 Percent from September 2008

Arlington, VA, November 5, 2009 - The Manufactured Housing Institute's actual shipments report indicates that 4,531 new HUD-Code homes were shipped in September 2009, down 34.6 percent from September 2008. Shipments of single-section homes were down 34 percent, year over year, while shipments of multi-section homes were down 34.9 percent.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of shipments was 52,000 in September, up 12.9 percent from the rate of 46,000 posted in August. The SAAR corrects for normal seasonal variations in shipments and projects an annual shipments pace based on the current monthly total.

Year to date, shipments are down 42.2 percent. Single-section shipments are down 40.1 percent, while multi-section shipments are down 43.3 percent.

Year-over-year shipments were down in all nine Divisions. Shipments were down in the East North Central (-42.6 percent), West North Central (-40.7 percent), East South Central (-38.2 percent), Pacific (-37.3 percent), Mountain (-33.4 percent), New England (-32.3 percent), South Atlantic (-31.2 percent), West South Central (-30.6 percent) and Middle Atlantic (-27.2 percent) Divisions.

In September 2009, shipments were down in 44 states, up in two states and flat in three states, compared to September 2008. Shipments were up in Delaware (37.5 percent) and Montana (23.3 percent). Shipments were flat in Colorado, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Shipments were down in Nebraska (-80 percent), Alaska (-77.8 percent), Michigan (-66.7 percent), Idaho (-62.5 percent), Minnesota (-60.7 percent), Connecticut (-60 percent), Massachusetts (-60 percent), Alabama (-57.1 percent), Wisconsin (-56.9 percent), Arizona (-55.9 percent), Oregon (-53 percent), Georgia (-49.3 percent), Nevada (-44.4 percent), North Dakota (-41.4 percent), Florida (-40.4 percent), South Dakota (-40.4 percent), Indiana (-40.2 percent), Iowa (-40 percent), Ohio (-39.8 percent), New Jersey (-38.1 percent), Washington (-37.8 percent), Mississippi (-36.2 percent), West Virginia (-35.8 percent), Tennessee (-35.5 percent), Maine (-34.8 percent), Louisiana (-33.1 percent), Texas (-31.5 percent), Wyoming (-31.1 percent), New York (-30.7 percent), Utah (-30.6 percent), Kansas (-30 percent), Missouri (-29 percent), Oklahoma (-28 percent), New Hampshire (-28 percent), California (-27.1 percent), Maryland (-26.3 percent), North Carolina (-26.2 percent), Pennsylvania (-22.3 percent), Kentucky (-22.2 percent), Illinois (-22 percent), Arkansas (-20.6 percent), Virginia (-20.1 percent), South Carolina (-17.6 percent) and New Mexico (-15.3 percent).

Total floors shipped in September were 7,472, down 34.8 percent from September 2008. The number of reporting plants for September was 156, unchanged from August 2009. The number of corporations was 61, up two from August. More details will be forthcoming in MHI's Monthly Economic Report for September.