As 2012 gets underway, manufacturers in a diverse number of sectors hope that improvements witnessed in 2011 will continue. One of the sectors that had shown signs of growth and optimism for that matter, over the first three quarters of 2011 was fluid power. Based on statistical information collected by the US Department of Commerce, the sector over the last several years, has witnessed a renewed interest from the downturn it experienced in the 2008-2009 recession. US imports within the fluid power sector amounted to $11,5 billion within the first nine months of 2011 - an increase of 33.58%