Hydraulic cylinders are important components of machines and processes that are essential to keeping the manufacturing sector humming along.
Without knowing it, you have been the beneficiary of hydraulic cylinders in some way within the last 24 hours. With such a critical place in the world, we are going to look at the hydraulic cylinder industry and the factors that affect its health.
Hydraulic force
Hydraulic cylinders are mechanical devices that take advantage of the incompressibility of fluid to multiply force. Simply put, fluid cannot be compressed into a smaller space.
By pumping high-pressure fluid into a cylinder, it forces a piston to move in order to create space for its volume. As a result, the piston produces linear mechanical forces ranging from a few hundred pounds up to thousands of tons.
Common uses
These devices are commonly seen on construction equipment such as excavators and bulldozers. They are also used on maritime vessels such as fishing boats and research ships.
Agriculture, oil exploration and hydroelectric plants utilize hydraulic cylinders to a very high degree. Finally, manufacturing and production processes require the power and efficiency of these cylinders to keep their operations running at maximum capacity.
Global effects
It is clear to see that hydraulic cylinder manufacturing is closely tied to many heavy industries. As a result, it has seen modest growth in both jobs and sales within the last year.
This increase will continue its upward trend through 2019 as the USTR has imposed tariffs on 50 percent of all Chinese goods imported into the United States last year. Prominently on that list of tariffed products are hydraulic cylinders. This points to the need for an increase in domestic production to satisfy the demand.
Industry growth
According to data collected by IndustryNet, in 2018, a total of 6236 jobs spread across 191 companies generated $757,449,993 in sales. This represents an increase of 3.25 percent over the previous year's transactions.
While only 2 percent of companies reported sales growth, not a single firm reported a sales decline. To further illustrate the industry's growth, a look at the individual employment data is warranted.
Four percent of companies reported a decline in employment, which was balanced with the 5 percent that reported an increase, netting one percent growth. Despite that relatively small figure, the industry, on the whole, saw a job increase of nearly 3 percent in the same interval.
Industry distribution
The majority of hydraulic cylinder companies are located in the Midwest, according to IndustryNet, with 45 percent of the industry being based in this region.
The South is the next most populous with 29 percent. Finally comes the West and Northeast with roughly 15 and 11 percent respectively. Of these companies, 71 percent distribute domestically with 28 percent distributing internationally.
This ratio will change in the future as the full effect of tariffs becomes felt in both the U.S. and China. Additionally, 16 percent of hydraulic cylinder companies import raw materials. Depending on the source of these materials, this value may adjust downward in 2019 as well.
Future developments
Advancements in hydraulic cylinder technology may spur additional increases in growth. The use of Hall Effect sensors on the outside of a cylinder eliminates the need for a hollow rod.
By mounting a magnet inside the cylinder, the position can be identified and controlled precisely. Other advancements include digital control of valves to allow for more accurate and efficient positioning and integration with IoT to enable remote manipulation of individual cylinders in machines and processes.
Finding an hydraulic cylinder supplier
IndustryNet has information on all hydraulic cylinder manufacturers in the United States. In addition, they also have data on 400,000 manufacturers from any industry. Use their free database to find the supplier that you need. Customers can also enhance their quoting process with IndustryNet by receiving estimates from multiple suppliers simply by filling out one request.
