Historically, people who work on cars and trucks have not widely used disposable gloves. For generations of mechanics, hand protection simply was not a big concern.
Why? In many cases—at least until the last couple decades—they lacked the information they needed to make the right choice for safety. Heck, even today the industry is only 120 or so years old. The evolution to new ideas can be long and laborious.
During the pandemic, many distributors scrambled to find a glove vendor—while others dropped products altogether, including single-use gloves, because of the difficulty and/or cost of obtaining them.
Have you asked why you are buying from your current disposable glove vendor? Now might be the time to make sure that your organization has a clear understanding of what differentiates your suppliers.
Most disposable glove factories prefer to run their production lines almost non-stop to make money, in a concept known as factory utilization. It is common that a factory needs a 50% utilization rate to break even.
Throughout 2023, factory utilization rates for most of the disposable glove industry have been well below 50% because of massive capacity added during the pandemic and high excess inventory amounts at the end-user level.
Costs of doing business in the disposable glove market seem to be leveling off after several years of big swings. United Parcel Service and the Teamsters reached a deal to avoid a strike by getting the raises the drivers wanted. Thus, higher labor costs will likely affect the price of most goods they transport.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association also forged their own deal after months of labor strife; you can expect that agreement to eventually factor into product costs as well.
As we look forward to Q4 of 2023, the year has been a mixed bag of outcomes for disposable gloves.
The pandemic boosted demand, and more gloves are used in North America than ever. At the same time, many large distributors and end users are still dealing with excess inventory, as prices have dropped and challenges with labor, logistics, and factory utilization continue.
Every quarter, AMMEX examines the impacts of key drivers on the disposable glove market.
The market, and the aspects of distribution surrounding it, are extremely nuanced. We don’t have a crystal ball, so we’re not telling you what will happen. We’re not even trying to make predictions—our goal is to highlight the primary factors influencing the market.
Of all the hands AMMEX has protected across countless industries during its 35 years in business, automotive service and repair is where we thrive.
Our nitrile disposable gloves set the industry standard well more than a decade ago. Since then we have become the leading independent distributor of single-use gloves in North America. Our Gloveworks brand is synonymous with top-quality hand protection, and our service is renowned for helping customers find the right glove for the job, every time.
Sustainability has evolved from buzzword to mantra to guiding principle for many. Operating from the notion that resources are finite and should be used with a view toward long-term priorities, it’s pure in intent yet can be polarizing.
It is a topic that often comes up in conjunction with disposable gloves. Long the subject of pressure from activists and start-ups intent on somehow reinventing the product, single-use gloves have by their very definition proven elusive as the target of environmental crusaders.
As we’ve mentioned in recent weeks, despite overall volatility in global markets, disposable gloves are in a good place.
The first half of 2023 has seen a number of factors pose challenges: threats of recession, interest rate hikes, persistent inflation, and a general sense of dread about the short-term health of the economy (which has, nevertheless, largely remained strong).
Myriad issues can influence the cost and availability of disposable gloves. These factors were of course magnified during the pandemic, where unstable prices and abrupt twists and turns of availability drove buyers and sellers alike to take any steps necessary to acquire product.
Regardless of how the market has changed post-pandemic, one thing that remains the same is that most gloves are sourced from across the world, specifically SE Asia and China. This is where the variables begin to stack up, from manufacturing costs to ocean shipping to domestic transport.
