Year

US GDP Growth Rate

US Nominal GDP (billions)

US GDP per Capita

US Household Median Income

US 95th percentile HSD Income

US Economic Event

US Unemployment %

US Prime Rate (year end)

US Median Home Price

RV Unit Shipments (000)

% Change From Prior Year

RV Retail Value (billions)

FT Units (est)(calendar year units)

FT Maximum base MSRP

FT Maximum base MSRP / HSD Median Income

FT Maximum base MSRP / 95th HSD Income

FT Profit / (Loss) (millions)

FT President / CEO

FT Events

1978

5.6%

$ 2,357

$ 28,699

$ 15,064

$ 42,055

Fed raised rate to 10% to fight 9% inflation.

6.1%

11.75%

$ 55,700

389.9

-5.8%

4.077

$ 72,295

4.8

1.7

C.M. Fore

1979

3.2%

$ 2,632

$ 28,775

$ 16,461

$ 46,860

Fed raised rate to 15.5% to fight 13.3% inflation, then lowered it to 12% confusing price-setters. Iran hostage crisis. Three Mile Island disaster ends further nuclear construction in U.S.

5.9%

15.25%

$ 62,900

199.2

-48.9%

2.123

$ 79,625

4.8

1.7

C.M. Fore

1980

-0.2%

$ 2,863

$ 28,957

$ 17,710

$ 50,661

Fed raised rate to 20%. GDP dropped 7.9% in Q2. Fed lowered rate to 10% by August to boost economy, then raised it to 20% to fight 12.5% inflation. Iran oil embargo.

7.2%

21.50%

$ 64,600

107.2

-46.2%

1.168

$ 82,850

4.7

1.6

C.M. Fore

1981

2.6%

$ 3,211

$ 27,982

$ 19,074

$ 55,200

Reagan became President. Fed lowered rate to 12%. Inflation at 8.9%. 1981 recession began in July.

7.6%

15.75%

$ 68,900

133.6

24.6%

1.253

$ 91,000

4.8

1.6

C.M. Fore

1982

-1.9%

$ 3,345

$ 28,167

$ 20,171

$ 60,086

Congress passed Garn-St. Germain Act to fight recession. Removed. Fed lowered rate to 8.5%, since inflation was a moderate (in those days) 3.8%.

9.7%

11.50%

$ 69,300

140.6

5.2%

1.879

$ 118,900

5.9

2.0

C.M. Fore

1983

4.6%

$ 3,638

$ 30,307

$ 20,885

$ 63,500

Unemployment was 10.8%. Reagan proposed Star Wars and increased military spending.

9.6%

11.00%

$ 75,300

196.6

39.8%

3.485

$ 152,930

7.3

2.4

C.M. Fore

1984

7.3%

$ 4,041

$ 31,428

$ 22,415

$ 68,500

The Unemployment Rate drops to 7.2%, the same rate it was when the early 1980s recession started in June 1981.

7.5%

10.75%

$ 79,900

215.7

9.7%

4.393

$ 159,500

7.1

2.3

C.M. Fore

1985

4.2%

$ 4,347

$ 32,453

$ 23,618

$ 72,004

7.2%

9.50%

$ 84,300

186.9

13.4%

3.936

$ 171,500

7.3

2.4

C.M. Fore

1986

3.5%

$ 4,590

$ 33,036

$ 24,897

$ 77,106

Reagan cut taxes. Chernobyl nuclear accident.

7.0%

7.50%

$ 92,000

189.8

1.6%

4.031

$ 189,500

7.6

2.5

C.M. Fore

1987

3.5%

$ 4,870

$ 34,148

$ 26,061

$ 80,928

Black Monday stock market crash. Inflation at 4.4%.

6.2%

8.75%

$ 104,500

211.7

11.5%

4.660

$ 204,500

7.8

2.5

C.M. Fore

1988

4.2%

$ 5,253

$ 35,291

$ 27,225

$ 85,640

Fed raised rate to 9.75% to combat 4.4% inflation.

5.5%

10.50%

$ 112,500

215.8

1.9%

4.955

$ 297,500

10.9

3.5

C.M. Fore

1989

3.7%

$ 5,658

$ 35,941

$ 28,906

$ 91,750

Bush 41 became President. Exxon Valdez oil spill. Invasion of Panama. S&L Crisis caused recession. Fed lowered rate to 8.25% to fight it, despite 4.6% inflation.Berlin Wall fell.

5.3%

10.50%

$ 120,000

187.9

-12.9%

4.589

240

$ 303,500

10.5

3.3

C.M. Fore

1990

1.9%

$ 5,980

$ 35,145

$ 29,943

$ 94,748

Iraq invaded Kuwait. Dow fell 18% in 3 months. Inflation rose to 6.1%.

5.6%

9.50%

$ 122,900

173.1

-7.9%

4.113

240

$ 305,500

10.2

3.2

C.M. Fore

1991

-0.1%

$ 6,174

$ 35,694

$ 30,126

$ 96,400

Desert Storm. 1991 recession. Breakup of Soviet Union. Fed lowered rate to 4%.

6.9%

6.50%

$ 120,000

163.3

-5.7%

3.614

240

$ 310,500

10.3

3.2

C.M. Fore

1992

3.6%

$ 6,539

$ 36,381

$ 30,636

$ 99,020

Fed lowered rate to 3%.

7.5%

6.00%

$ 121,500

203.4

24.6%

4.411

205

$ 315,500

10.3

3.2

C.M. Fore

1993

2.7%

$ 6,879

$ 37,171

$ 31,241

$ 104,639

Clinton became President. NAFTA and European Union signed into law. World Trade Center bombed.

6.9%

6.00%

$ 126,500

227.8

12.0%

4.713

205

$ 322,500

10.3

3.1

C.M. Fore

1994

4.0%

$ 7,309

$ 38,008

$ 32,264

$ 109,821

6.1%

8.50%

$ 130,000

259.2

13.8%

5.691

205

$ 333,500

10.3

3.0

C.M. Fore

1995

2.7%

$ 7,664

$ 38,544

$ 34,076

$ 113,000

Fed raised rate to 6%. Inflation a moderate 2.5%.

5.6%

8.50%

$ 133,900

247.0

-4.7%

5.894

217

$ 353,000

10.4

3.1

C.M. Fore

1996

3.8%

$ 8,100

$ 39,825

$ 35,492

$ 119,540

Inflation at 3.3%.

5.4%

8.25%

$ 140,000

247.5

0.2%

6.328

195

$ 353,500

10.0

3.0

C.M. Fore

1997

4.5%

$ 8,609

$ 41,176

$ 37,005

$ 126,550

Thailand cut its dollar peg. Speculators sold all Asian currencies.

4.9%

8.50%

$ 146,000

254.5

2.8%

6.904

195

$ 389,500

10.5

3.1

C.M. Fore

1998

4.5%

$ 9,089

$ 42,663

$ 38,885

$ 132,199

Russia debt default. Long Term Capital Management hedge fund nearly collapsed. Fed lowered rate to 4.75%.

4.5%

7.75%

$ 152,500

292.7

15.0%

8.364

190

$ 459,000

11.8

3.5

C.M. Fore

1999

4.7%

$ 9,661

$ 43,935

$ 40,696

$ 142,000

Y2K scare boosted tech purchases. Budget surplus. Euro created.Glass-Steagall repealed. Fed raised rate to 5.5%.

4.2%

8.50%

$ 161,000

321.2

9.7%

10.413

197

$ 469,000

11.5

3.3

$ 2.400

Ray Fore

2000

4.1%

$ 10,285

$ 44,492

$ 41,990

$ 145,220

Tech bubble burst. Fed raised rate to 6.5% to fight 3.4% inflation.

4.0%

9.50%

$ 169,000

300.1

-6.6%

9.529

164

$ 524,500

12.5

3.6

$ 1.800

Ray Fore

Foretravel paint shop opened by James Stallings

2001

1.0%

$ 10,622

$ 44,687

$ 42,228

$ 150,499

Bush 43 became President. Recession worsened by 9/11 attacksand War on Terror, but helped by EGTRRA, the first Bush tax cut. Fed started lowering rates.

4.7%

4.75%

$ 175,200

256.8

-14.4%

8.598

132

$ 559,750

13.3

3.7

$ (3.300)

Ray Fore

2002

1.8%

$ 10,978

$ 44,996

$ 42,409

$ 150,002

Bush calls for regime change in Iraq, creates Homeland Security.

5.8%

4.25%

$ 187,600

311.0

21.1%

10.960

171

$ 588,000

13.9

3.9

$ (0.483)

Ray Fore

2003

2.8%

$ 11,511

$ 46,560

$ 43,318

$ 154,120

Unemployment at 6%. Fed lowered rate to 1%. Bush enactedJGTRRA tax cut for businesses. Iraq War began.

6.0%

4.00%

$ 195,000

320.8

3.2%

12.058

148

$ 546,750

12.6

3.5

$ (5.300)

Ray Fore

layoff of 350 employees, from 550 to 200; closed 5 of 6 factory-owned stores

2004

3.8%

$ 12,275

$ 47,800

$ 44,334

$ 157,152

Fed started raising rates.

5.5%

5.25%

$ 221,000

370.1

15.4%

14.700

$ 581,500

13.1

3.7

$ (7.600)

Ray Fore

Foretravel misses payroll;

2005

3.3%

$ 13,094

$ 48,856

$ 46,326

$ 166,000

Hurricane Katrina cost $250 billion in damage.

5.1%

7.25%

$ 240,900

384.4

3.9%

14.366

$ 670,652

14.5

4.0

$ (9.000)

Lyle Reed

Company sold to investment group: Lyle Reed, Greg Amys, Frank Sheeder Jr. & Dr. Dane Miller; Reed invests ~$500k; James Stallings opens Xtreme Paint & Graphics location in Nacogdoches

2006

2.7%

$ 13,856

$ 48,987

$ 48,201

$ 174,012

Fed funds rate raised to 6.75%. Swine flu epidemic.

4.6%

8.25%

$ 246,500

390.5

1.6%

14.732

$ 676,840

14.0

3.9

Lyle Reed

2007

1.8%

$ 14,478

$ 49,060

$ 50,233

$ 177,000

Dow reached new high of 14,164.43. Inflation at 4.1%. Fed dropped rate 3 times, to 4.25%, to ease banking liquidity crisis. LIBOR rose to 5.6%.

4.6%

7.25%

$ 247,900

353.4

-9.5%

14.504

$ 678,615

13.5

3.8

Lyle Reed

Foretravel sues Fore family

2008

-0.3%

$ 14,719

$ 46,941

$ 50,303

$ 180,000

Stock market crash of 2008 led to global financial crisis and $350 billion spent on bank bailout bill. Fed lowered rate 7 times to 0%. See2008 GDP by quarter.

5.8%

3.25%

$ 232,100

237.0

-32.9%

8.758

$ 732,175

14.6

4.1

Lyle Reed

Foretravel sues MOT, case is settled;

2009

-2.8%

$ 14,419

$ 47,280

$ 49,777

$ 180,001

Obama became President. Dow dropped to 6,594.44. Obama Stimulus Act spent $400 billion, reversed downward spiral. See 2009 GDP by quarter.

9.3%

3.25%

$ 216,700

165.7

-30.1%

5.152

Greg Amys

2010

2.5%

$ 14,964

$ 47,805

$ 49,276

$ 180,485

BP oil spill. Bush tax cuts extended. Obamacare and Dodd-Frankpassed. See 2010 GDP by quarter.

9.6%

3.25%

$ 221,800

242.3

46.2%

8.732

Greg Amys

2011

1.6%

$ 15,518

$ 48,756

$ 50,054

$ 186,000

Japan earthquake and Mississippi River floods. 10-year Treasury yield hit 200-year low. Iraq War ended.

8.9%

3.25%

$ 227,200

252.3

4.1%

9.028

Greg Amys

2012

2.3%

$ 16,155

$ 48,992

$ 51,017

$ 191,156

Presidential campaign and fiscal cliff created business uncertainty.Superstorm Sandy hit East Coast. See U.S. Economy 2012

8.1%

3.25%

$ 245,200

285.9

13.2%

10.835

Greg Amys

2013

2.2%

$ 16,663

$ 49,405

$ 51,939

$ 196,000

Slow growth due to sequestration. Low nominal GDP growth thanks to low inflation. GDP per capita returned to pre-recession level.

7.4%

3.25%

$ 268,900

321.1

12.4%

12.984

Greg Amys

2014

2.4%

$ 17,348

$ 50,456

$ 53,657

$ 206,568

Growth increased as the economy got back on its feet, and inflation remained low. Fed ended Quantitative Easing.

6.2%

3.25%

$ 282,800

356.7

11.1%

15.396

$ 1,300,000

24.2

6.3

Lyle Reed

2015

2.4%

$ 17,947

$ 56,300

Strong dollar hurt exports. Oil prices collapsed.

5.3%

3.50%

$ 296,400

374.2

4.9%

Lyle Reed

Sources:

Prime rate 1978-82:

https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/data/PRIME.txt

Prime rate 1982-2015:

https://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/About-JPMC/historical-prime-rate.htm

GDP:

http://useconomy.about.com/od/GDP-by-Year/a/US-GDP-History.htm

Unemployment:

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000&sa=U&ved=0ahUKEwjsi9-TnbnMAhWHWCYKHd5lCu8QFggEMAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNGe3tMyN7lsuDIbZX3F-UycL1K_zQ

RV units & value:

http://www.rvia.org/?ESID=histglance

FT units:

http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=23217.50

FT Profit/(Loss):

http://dailysentinel.com/news/local/article_518210cd-6a18-52e9-adb9-3fdd376b5d57.html

Lyle Reed investment amount:

http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=5359.msg22066#msg22066

Household median income (current dollars):

https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/household/

Foretravel maximum base list price:

NADA