Cleveland — As the COVID-19 virus spreads worldwide, the need for disposable medical gloves has skyrocketed at a time the supply is constrained by manufacturing slowdowns and trade restrictions.
Beyond the increase in the number of hospitalizations due to the deadly respiratory disease, analysts at The Freedonia Group have been looking at other factors related to the pandemic’s effect on the global disposable medical gloves market.
The other factors driving demand include:
- A sharp increase in the number of gloves used per health care worker at nursing homes, medical offices and ambulance services in addition to hospitals.
- An increase in the use of medical gloves by non-medical personnel.
- And, product hoarding, which has led to an increase in prices when coupled with the temporary production slowdowns.
The market currently is seeing double-digit growth but is expected to return to more sustainable levels. The forecast calls for a 5.7 percent increase annually through 2024.
The Freedonia study looks at powdered and powder-free examination gloves, surgical gloves and laboratory gloves that are disposable and made primarily from latex, nitrile, vinyl, TPE, or CPE. The report excludes all reusable gloves and disposable gloves designed for use in industrial, commercial, food service, or agricultural applications.
Freedonia says demand for disposable medical gloves will continue to be driven by developing markets, as more countries gradually improve their health care standards and hygiene practices.
In developed markets, growth will be driven by aging populations but restrained by trends toward telehealth and market maturity.
Freedonia’s report, called Global Disposable Medical Gloves: COVID-19 Impact Analysis, also provides perspective and analysis of virus trends, patient activity and supply chain issues.
The Freedonia Group is an international industrial research company that is a division of MarketResearch.com.
Studies can be purchased at freedoniagroup.com, marketresearch.com and profound.com.
