Domestic Industrial Valve Shipments Surpass Pre-Crash Levels

Industry Numbers Flat Overall but There Are Several Bright Spots

Before the Great Recession of 2008, the valve industry had reached a height of about $4 billion in overall shipments. Since 2009, the industry has been pushing hard to get those numbers back up, climbing steadily each year. In 2016, growth had flattened due to a number of factors, including reduced petroleum production throughout the country as well as power industry reductions.

Even so, the valve industry has hit an important milestone these past couple years, coming in at $4.5 billion in shipments and finally surpassing pre-market-crash levels. In spite of the reductions in the petroleum and power sectors, we are seeing an uptick in commercial construction, which is now making up approximately 5% of the industry.

Chemical and water/wastewater is also on the increase, forecasted to increase to 17.8% by the end of 2016, almost a full point above last year’s 16.9%. And while petroleum production continues to fall, petroleum refining remains a bright point, gaining some ground over last year and moving from 10.8% up to 11.1% of shipments. Exports have been an industry stronghold and they continue to move upward for 2016, though not as markedly as in years past. Imports decreased slightly.