In the month of March 2012, 4,696 new manufactured homes were shipped, up 16.4 percent from March 2011. Increases were across the board with shipments of both single-section and multi-section homes up compared with the same month last year. As with the first two months of 2012, single section homes accounted for the largest portion of the increase, with shipments up 23.5 percent compared with the March 2011 figures.

Compared with the prior year, 2012 recorded shipment increases in January, February, and March. For the first three months of this year, shipments totaled 12,780 homes compared with 9,696 homes in 2011, a net increase of 31.8 percent.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of shipments was 57,268 in March 2012, down 9.3 percent from February 2012 which had 63,111shipments. The SAAR corrects for normal seasonal variations in shipments and projects annual shipments based on the current monthly total.

Total floors shipped in March 2012 were 7,132, an increase of 14.4 percent over March 2011. A total of 122 plants reported production in March and the number of manufacturing companies stands at 46, both unchanged from last month.

Click here to access the March 2012 report. If you are an MHI member, you can also access the report on MHI’s website at www.manufacturedhousing.org.