This week I attended the National Fluid Power Association’s (NFPA) Industry & Economic Outlook Conference. Each year this event provides lots of great insights into the current state of the economy as well as key customer markets for the fluid power industry, and predictions for the year ahead to help the industry plan its business and design decisions.
There is a lot of information to sift through from this year’s event, which I’ll be pulling together and sharing in the weeks ahead, but some initial key takeaways include:
- Expect slow growth in 2027, followed by stronger growth potential in 2028 and 2029.
- Inflation, tariffs and geopolitical tensions are factors that will continue to pose challenges.
- The AI boom is driving construction of data centers — helping prop up the construction industry, and thus equipment demand — as well as demand for electronics and other products used in these facilities.
- Heavy-duty trucking, defense, aerospace, and semiconductors are among the expected opportunity markets in the year ahead.
June’s shipment data for fluid power products and second quarter North American robot orders, both highlighted in today’s newsletter, show some of the positive momentum occurring for the hydraulics and pneumatics sector at the moment. Whether this continues remains to be seen, but with expectations for slow growth in the year ahead and signs of improvements in some key customer markets, it is looking like more positive conditions can be expected.
How do you see the fluid power industry faring currently? What opportunities, and challenges, are you seeing? Take our poll to offer your perspective or feel free to email me at [email protected] to offer your thoughts directly on the state of the fluid power industry.
Sara Jensen, Editor, Power & Motion
