Fluid Power Market Shows Signs of Stability in July 2026
The National Fluid Power Association’s (NFPA) July 2026 data for fluid power shipments and orders shows more stable conditions for the hydraulics and pneumatics market.
Month-over-month values for shipments show a slight decline for each category:
- Total Fluid Power: -2%
- Pneumatic: -4.5%
- Hydraulic: -2.1%
This comes after shipments data reported for June 2026 showed improvements in all categories, signaling the potential start of stable conditions for the fluid power industry. Although the July data is down slightly from June, NFPA states this does not indicate a downward trend as of yet but instead a small step back after several strong months.
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Year-over-year data paints a more positive picture. Improvements in shipments compared to July 2025 were recorded for each category, helping signal more stable market conditions:
- Total Fluid Power: 5.9%
- Pneumatic: 3.2%
- Hydraulic: 6.3%
In addition, NFPA reports 3/12 and 12/12 values show increases for each category. The most notable increase for the 3/12 value it says was within the pneumatics segment which jumped from 1.9 to 5.0%.
U.S. manufacturing activity remained steady in July, with the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing PMI registering 55.6%. Growth for semiconductors, AI (artificial intelligence), packaging and high-performance computing were cited as factors creating favorable conditions for the manufacturing sector.
As pneumatics are used in a wide range of manufacturing equipment and applications — including many of those noted above — the positivity in this customer market is likely benefiting the pneumatics segment of the fluid power industry.
Flip through the media gallery above for charts showing fluid power shipment and order trends through July 2026.
The data and charts in this media gallery are from NFPA’s Confidential Shipment Statistics (CSS) program where over 60 manufacturers of fluid power products report their monthly orders and shipments.
About the Author
Sara JensenSara Jensen
Executive Editor, Power & Motion
Sara Jensen is executive editor of Power & Motion, directing expanded coverage into the modern fluid power space, as well as mechatronic and smart technologies. She has over 15 years of publishing experience. Prior to Power & Motion she spent 11 years with a trade publication for engineers of heavy-duty equipment, the last 3 of which were as the editor and brand lead. Over the course of her time in the B2B industry, Sara has gained an extensive knowledge of various heavy-duty equipment industries — including construction, agriculture, mining and on-road trucks —along with the systems and market trends which impact them such as fluid power and electronic motion control technologies.
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