Harley-Davidson Pre-Earnings: U.S. Retail Sales Could Return To Strong Growth In Q1

Harley grew wholesale motorcycle shipments by 3.9% to 270,726 units in 2014, and expects to ship 4-6% more motorcycles to dealers this year. The company expects to have shipped 79,000-84,000 motorcycles in Q1, compared with 80,682 motorcycle shipments in Q1 last year. Much will depend on the demand in the domestic market for Harley to achieve volume growth near the higher end of the estimated shipment range this quarter.