On Dec. 3, 2025, the Submersible Wastewater Pump Association (SWPA) held its annual meeting in Chicago. SWPA Executive Director Adam Stolberg presented the results of their Annual Industry Outlook Survey. The survey was a culmination of responses from the membership.
Overall, 2025 was a good year for pump and component manufacturers. The industry enjoyed double digit growth in 2022 and 2023, continued growth in the 8%-9% range in 2024 and slightly lower growth in 2025. While expectations are lower than they were for 2025, the membership is cautiously optimistic about 2026, believing growth will be in the 4%-8% range across all pump categories. As expected, component parts and accessory sales are expected to follow the sales of pumps.
The Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) continues to present challenges for the industry—mostly due to the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations are still not totally clear. Several member companies have adjusted their product lines to comply with BABA, but in many cases, this is resulting in higher costs to the end user. Tariffs are also presenting more and more issues, including overall uncertainty and increased costs, both of which hurt the end user and company profits. Supply chain issues are still a factor, but not to the extent that was seen in 2019-2020 during the COVID pandemic.
When SWPA presented the Industry Outlook in 2024 (for 2025), the expectation was three to six rate cuts in 2025. As of today, there have only been two, with December rate cuts still not 100% certain. Despite rate cuts, the rate on the 10-year treasuries has not come down, and as a result, mortgages still remain higher than the industry would like. This affects new construction of single-family and multi-family homes. The general expectation for 2026 is that new construction sales will continue to slow, thus lowering demand in that sector of the market.
Slowing job growth and the aging workforce are also a concern. Almost all member companies are hiring, but they are finding it harder and harder to fill sales and manufacturing positions, which ultimately drives wage costs up. Inflation remains at a more elevated level than we would like, with a direct correlation to tariffs. Longer term inflation into 2026 and beyond is uncertain and troubling as a result.
There are a few bright spots ahead in 2026, according to the membership. Funding (state and federal) continues to be plentiful, and jobs in the pipeline should carry us well into and past 2026. Aging infrastructure still drives demand—be it repair or replacement. The economy is definitely showing signs of a slowdown, but our industry lags the overall market by about 12-18 months. As a result, 2026 should still be a pretty good year.
SWPA is an industry leader in training for the submersible wastewater pumping industry. Its 5th edition of the Submersible Pumping Systems Handbook was released in November 2025. SWPA will hold its two-day Pumping Systems and Controls Training in Chicago on April 21-22, 2026, focused on hands-on training, problem solving and troubleshooting.
For more, visit swpa.org or contact SWPA headquarters at 847-681-1868.
