International shipping is another cost variable that exerts outsized influence on the price of disposable gloves.
Ocean freight rates in 2023 have been on a steady decline for shipping containers from SE Asia to U.S. West Coast ports. Experts fear transport companies will try to force up prices by making fewer voyages and leaving containers behind, delaying the delivery of goods.
The three primary variables that have an often outsized impact on the single-use glove market are production, international logistics, and U.S. market conditions. Within those variables are a number of sub-variables that can move in opposite directions and in different timelines.
Production happens primarily in Southeast Asia, where up to 80% of single-use gloves are made. The biggest glove-making countries are Malaysia and Thailand—which have dominated the glove trade for years—Vietnam, and Indonesia. China is also a growing player in the global market.
Over the past three years, three primary variables—production, transcontinental logistics, and U.S. market logistics—have combined to keep the disposable glove market dynamic and at times volatile. Their impact has been surprisingly outsized.
In 2020, the pandemic turned the market (and the world) upside down. Shortages and price increases added challenges at every level of the business. Manufacturers turned their production lines over to thin medical-grade gloves. As a result, industrial products—especially thick and heavy nitrile—became scarce and expensive.
If there’s a thread that runs throughout AMMEX’s 35-year history, it’s commitment to customers.
Ever since 24-year-old Fred Crosetto started this company in 1988—and at first sold gloves out of the trunk of his car as he built his brand—AMMEX’s focus has been on delivering what customers need, as well as helping them grow their glove sales.
There are a lot of niche needs in the manufacturing sector. However, once again the issue boils down to the job is more important than the industry. What matters most to your customers? Is it grip, thickness, chemical resistance? Do they still use latex but should be using nitrile?
It’s a complex question because the category is so large—but a few gloves will cover most needs across the widest spectrum of industries:
Where were you in 1988?
Maybe already running your distribution business. Or still in school, studying hard to build a better tomorrow for yourself. Or maybe not even born yet.
“I want to sell more gloves.”
“Do you have any issues selling more gloves?”
“Yeah. I don’t know which segments to target.”
If you could carry only one glove, this would be it.
Gloveworks Orange Nitrile with Raised Diamond Texture has, since its introduction nearly a decade ago, been a game-changer.
Training a good sales rep is not easy.
It can take a long time, and require both extensive product knowledge and refinement of technique (e.g., lots of practice calls). Just knowledge isn’t enough, either: strong communication and persuasion skills are not optional. And, of course, the candidate needs to have a motor that revs into overdrive.
Hey, industrial distributors! Are you looking to add a sweet source of profit?
If you’re not selling single-use gloves, you need to start. They’re a lucrative addition to any catalog. Let’s face it: Even if the pandemic is over (it isn’t), hand protection is central to promoting health, hygiene, and safety in any industry.
