Australia is entering an era of unprecedented change, which presents the pump industry with challenges and new possibilities. Now in its 12th year, the annual State of the Industry report examines how the sector fared in 2024 and looks ahead with continued optimism for 2025.
With ongoing challenges and a sea of new opportunities, our survey results suggest that 2024 was a mixed bag for the pump industry.
Soaring interest rates and supply chain shortages continued to cause trouble over the last 12 months, but increased investment in new infrastructure, particularly in the water and wastewater space, has had a positive impact on the industry.
As Australia’s climate continues to change, the Federal Government is pouring billions into new clean energy projects via its Future Made in Australia bill – and the race to net zero has seen an increase in demand for energy efficient pumping solutions.
Interest and inflation rates also started to level out in the last half of the year, which shows potential for economic relief in 2025.
Despite these challenges, The State of the Industry 2025 report offers a positive outlook for the future and shows exciting opportunities for growth across multiple sectors
State of the industry responses 2025
The forecast for 2025 remains overwhelmingly positive, and as and as seen in Figure 1, 61 per cent of respondents predicted a positive year ahead for the industry. While the results do show a slight downward trend compared to 64 per cent in 2024, last year had the highest positive response on record and it’s encouraging to see this optimism is continued in 2025.
Negative outlook responses have climbed to 4.3 per cent up from last year’s 2.27 per cent, and neutral responses are also trending upwards at 22.2 per cent compared to 18.18 per cent in 2024. However, when plotted alongside responses from previous years the results consistently show a very positive outlook for the pump industry.
There is a growing contingent of uncertainty as the world continues to experience changes in key areas like economic stability, global supply chain and technological shifts. However, only a very small percentage of respondents feel that the industry outlook is negative – a good sign for the year ahead.
Similar to the 2024 survey, the difference in positive outlook for the pump industry as a whole was lower than individual company expectations, with 80 per cent of respondents reporting a positive outlook for their own company in the year ahead.
While this is just a very slight increase from 79.5 per cent in 2024, this consistent proclivity for positive responses paints a picture of steadfast optimism in the industry.
Although 2024 may have seen a decline in negative responses with just 3.41 per cent, respondents to this year’s survey were a little more cautious, and 6.7 per cent reported a negative outlook for 2025. On the other hand, the number of neutral responses has dipped, with 13.3 per cent saying they felt neutral about their business’ outlook – as opposed to 2024 where neutral responses totalled 14.77 per cent.
It’s likely that these feelings of concern are reflective of Australia’s broader economic challenges, with rising cost of living, and worker and supply chain shortages creating uncertainty for the industry. However, with positive and neutral votes combining to make up 93.3 per cent of responses, the outlook for businesses is still trending towards being positive and secure.
Evaluating company performance in 2024
The rising cost of living has had an impact on not just the pump industry, but every industry in Australia. As interest rates, fuel prices and the costs of labour and materials skyrocket, it comes as no surprise that an increased number of respondents said their 2024 performance fell short of expectations.
Although there has been an increase in shortfalls, the number of respondents who said they had exceeded expectations has also shot up to 47 per cent compared to 30.6 per cent in 2024. Fewer respondents (33.3 per cent) said that they met expectations in 2024 compared to 51.4 per cent in 2023, but the results indicate this can largely be attributed to more companies achieving better results than they had predicted.
Many companies attributed their success to sales being up and markets expanding. Several responders also noted internal operations as having a direct impact on whether expectations were met.
One company said that having a “closer interaction with its customer base” provided an opportunity to offer personalised solutions and improve its financial outcomes.
Another respondent said they had exceeded their sales budget, while others pointed to successful entrance into new market segments.
Conversely, respondents noted that broader economic issues impacted performance, including global supply chain challenges, skill shortages and increased cost of living.
Continuing this trend towards optimism, more than half of respondents said they expect their businesses to perform better in 2025 than in 2024.
One factor that could contribute to this positive outlook is the surge in new water and energy infrastructure projects, which could provide an abundance of new opportunities for the Australian pump industry.
What industries does your company operate in
When we look at the industries that respondents operate in (Figure 6), water and wastewater was the clear frontrunner, with 73.3 per cent of respondents reporting working in this sector.
Manufacturing, irrigation, filtration, mining, oil and gas, food and beverage and power generation were also primary sectors with around half of all respondents reporting working in these sectors. When looking at these figures in relation to positive outlooks for pump businesses, we can get a clearer picture of what sectors opportunities are likely to be found in.
Expected and reported sector growth
Expected versus reported growth, broken down by sector, provides a thorough snapshot of the key factors impacting the pump industry and sheds some light on why companies may or may not have met the expected growth projections from the previous year.
Survey respondents were asked to provide details about the volume of work experienced in critical sectors – including mining, water and wastewater, and irrigation – over the past 12 months. We then compared these responses to the growth expectations reported in last year’s State of the Industry survey to see how they compared.
It’s important to note, that in 2023 almost every industry reported unprecedented growth, and well exceeded all predictions, and it’s possible that these great result set unusually high expectations for 2024.
When compared to reported growth from previous years, we can clearly see that the water and wastewater sector continues to leading the charge, with respondents once again reporting more growth in this industry in 2024 than any other. Mining, irrigation, power generation, food and beverage and plastics and rubber also have a strong foothold, with demand in these sectors consistently increasing year-on-year.
We can also see a continued decline for the pulp and paper industry over time and fewer than 34 per cent of businesses reported working in this sector, which could highlight how this industry itself is shrinking.
The net zero reported growth in the building services and HVAC industry could connect to the existing problems in the construction sector. In the past few years, builders have grappled with significant challenges, from material shortages and soaring costs to the added complexity of uncertain skilled labour availability, impacting their on-site work scheduling.
At the same time, the Federal Government has pledged to create 1.2 million new homes over five years, the Victorian government plans to build 2.5 million homes by 2051, and the Queensland government aims to build one million quality homes by 2026. These targets are in addition to smaller targets from other governments across the country, ultimately squeezing the construction industry in both directions.
Sector growth predictions
Despite not meeting expectations in 2024, the predictions for 2025 remain optimistic. Continuing the trends of previous years, the water and wastewater industry is predicted to experience the highest growth in 2025. Several respondents attributed this to a rise in funding for water and wastewater infrastructure, largely driven by heightened government investment in these initiatives.
Respondents also forecast strong growth in the mining and irrigation sectors, which could be attributed to national decarbonisation efforts and the need for more energy efficient pumping solutions. Critical minerals will play a key role in Australia’s transition to renewables and an increase in demand for these resources creates new opportunities for the pump industry.
Many respondents also noted that clean energy projects were likely to present opportunities for Australian pump companies in 2025, however project delays and slowed progress in the green hydrogen space are preventing the pump industry from fully reaping the rewards of the energy transition.
At the same time, the oil and gas industry is expected to shrink, with more than one-third of respondents saying they expect their involvement in this sector to decrease somewhat.
Analysing predicted impact of potential factors
The demand for critical minerals and the performance of the mining industry
The rise of various smart technologies and energy storage solutions has driven a significant increase in global demand for essential minerals like lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements.
According to Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy 2023–2030, the country could see an additional $71.2 billion boost in gross domestic product and create 115,100 full-time equivalent jobs.
This creates numerous opportunities for the pump industry to assist in mining these resources, and one respondent noted that there has been a considerable increase in requests to purchase Australian-manufactured products, which is in line with government policies encouraging such procurement activities.
Agricultural industry
Australia’s agricultural sector greatly influences the pump industry, stemming from the sector’s heavy reliance on irrigation.
The University of Western Australia Institute of Agriculture highlights that while irrigated agriculture is crucial for food production, there is an increasing necessity to yield more with less water. This competition and the reality of water scarcity are significant motivators for enhancing water efficiency in agriculture.
While the changing climate can significantly impact the agricultural industry, one respondent pointed out that where there are challenges, there are opportunities. As pumps are needed to move flood water from one place to another, this climate variability provides opportunities for innovation to meet these shifting requirements.
Looking ahead for the next 12 months
Despite cost-of-living pressures, labour shortages and supply chain struggles, all indications show that businesses across the pump industry came out on top in 2024 – and the overwhelmingly positive outlook for the year ahead is a testament to the industry’s tenacity and importance in the Australian economy.
Although there are challenges likely to be faced in the coming year, there are also a lot of positives to look forward to – increased investment in critical minerals mining, renewable energy infrastructure and irrigation is likely to present some great business opportunities across the industry.
While there are clear challenges for our industry, there are opportunities also, and the survey data suggests that 2025 will be another good one for the pump industry.
