Global Fluid Power Report and Forecast
Includes a global macro summary, by-country customer market forecast & analysis, as well as by-country fluid power industry forecasts. Countries covered in the report: US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, UK, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, UAE, and South Africa.
Oxford Economics released the following summary of updates with the latest forecast release:
- US: Motor vehicles and parts is expected to decline by 3.5%, dragging the weighted demand for hydraulics down to a 1.9% contraction in 2025 followed by a 2.0% contraction in 2026 as tariffs have raised the cost of inputs.
- US: On the other hand, pneumatics are is set to benefit from the stellar growth in the electronic components and boards sector as AI-related investments continue strong momentum. It is forecast to expand by 1.0% in 2025, before undergoing a slight contraction in 2026 due to the motor vehicles sector.
- Global: GDP growth continues to face significant downside risks amid the evolving trade war. However, it has been revised upward to 2.5%, supported by firms front-loading orders ahead of tariff deadlines. Limited retaliation has lessened the impact on global trade more than initially feared, though we still expect global trade to decline by 3% between Q2 2025 and Q1 2026. Chinese exporters have been hit the hardest by tariffs thus far, though Chinese firms have grown sales to other economies rapidly. Although the uncertainty around trade deals and tariffs has subsided since the August deadline, the risk of additional tariffs has not disappeared, with President Trump suggesting sector-specific tariffs on semiconductors, which, if implemented, would limit growth in the electronic components and boards which has been driving demand for pneumatics.
- Global: Industrial value-added output momentum is peaking on the back of a robust H1. Indeed, this is driving the 2025 forecast to 2.7%, yet growth slows sharply to 1.9% in 2026, the weakest since the financial crisis (excluding 2020). The impact of tariffs is starting to bite, capital goods industries face contraction in the next three quarters as investment spending dwindles.
Global Fluid Power Report and Forecast can be accessed at this link: https://www.nfpa.com/global-forecast-oxford-economics
The snapshot below from the NFPA Stats Dashboard provides a quick look at Oxford’s Fluid Power growth forecast for the United States and a few other countries.
Please contact Cecilia Bart at cbart@nfpa.com with any questions.