24 www.bfpa.co.uk Economic forecasts and updates Over 40 delegates attended the BFPA’s 2024 Economic Forecast Seminar on 9 October, which was held at Warwick Conferences at the University of Warwick in Coventry. As usual, the day’s main focus was for Oxford Economics to provide members with an update of the world and UK economic outlook, before presenting their latest five-year forecast for the fluid power industry (2024-2028). Supporting guest speakers at this year’s event were from the University of Warwick WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) Centre, part of the UK’s HVM (HighValue Manufacturing) Catapult network. Jeremy Leonard, Director of Global Industry Services at Oxford Economics, opened the event with an overview of the main world and UK economic developments since last October. The second part of Jeremy’s presentation focused on the short and medium-term prospects for fluid power. The BFPA’s monthly survey data for both hydraulics and pneumatics indicated that year-to-date (to August 2024), both hydraulic and pneumatic shipments are down and weaker than expected, but these figures are compared to a strong first half of 2023. Oxford Economics’ forecasts for 2024 to 2028 were presented, as were the assumptions behind the figures. The 2024 outturn would be below what had been forecast in the previous year due to the delayed impact of high interest rates creating a drag on the industrial machinery sector, and weaker construction demand impacting hydraulics in 2024. Oxford Economics also suggested that better prospects for both hydraulics and pneumatics should, however, emerge in 2025. Dr Darren Hughes, Professor in Materials and Manufacturing, WMG Centre HVM Catapult at the University of Warwick, gave an excellent presentation on the role of the WMG, one of the UK’s seven world-class research centres, along with a case study on the Coventry Very Light Rail (CVLR) Project. Dr Truong Dinh, Associate Professor of Energy Management and Control Systems, WMG Centre HVM Catapult at the University of Warwick, then gave an interesting presentation on the expertise of his department which specialises in advanced techniques driven by AI and Digital Twins to optimise efficiency, resilience and inclusivity of electrified transport energy and mechatronic systems. PhD student Nicolas Holmes was next to speak on an exciting ongoing PhD project, part-funded by Babcock, which is investigating the development of an electric-hydraulic hybrid (EHH) drivetrain solution to tackle the challenges of electric emergency vehicles (fire engines) requiring very large batteries to meet the long driving range requirements and pumping times of these vehicles. Many delegates joined tours of the WMG Laboratories (the Energy Innovation Centre (EIC), and the International Manufacturing Centre (IMC)) and the CVLR test track which is based on site. Global information As a member of CETOP, the European Trade Federation for National Fluid Power Associations, the BFPA participates in the exchange of top-level information with other CETOP members. In turn, CETOP exchanges data with the US, China, Japan and Taiwan. Members can access this global information through the membersonly pages of the BFPA website. Official statistics The BFPA works on behalf of the hydraulics and pneumatics industries to monitor, collate and keep a watching brief on all the official fluid power production and trade codes and output statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). This information is also available to members for download from the BFPA website. For more information, please contact Sarah Gardner at the BFPA on sarah@bfpa.co.uk or enquiries@bfpa.co.uk Delegates at the BFPA’s 2024 Economic Forecast Seminar were able to tour a number of the Warwick Manufacturing Group’s laboratories at the University of Warwick, including the International Manufacturing Centre’s Winding Centre of Excellence.
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