Disposable glove factories, especially in Southeast Asia, continue to optimize their production lines. Some of the world’s largest makers of disposable gloves are working to return to profitability and expect it will take well into 2025 to do so.
Kenanga, a Malaysian investment bank, has hinted that it expects an uneven recovery for the industry. Its analysis of manufacturers’ performance in Q4 of 2023 showed dissatisfaction with some of the largest glove makers’ profitability because of reduced sales volume and continued high cost of raw materials, and predicted continued volatility in 2024.
Many SE Asia manufacturers are optimizing their operations: closing their oldest factories, retrofitting others, and automating as many tasks as possible to produce gloves more efficiently. Production routines that a decade ago might have required eight or 10 workers now are being performed with two. As profits have been down the last few years, glove makers are finding new ways to revive and revamp revenue streams.
Post-pandemic prices for raw materials declined but are now moving higher. Pricing of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), the primary ingredient in the world’s most popular disposable glove material, has surged by 20% in Q2 of 2024 compared with Q1. Looking ahead to Q3, more increases are expected. Plus, a significant increase in latex costs of over 25% is likely to be passed on from manufacturers to buyers.
At the same time, demand for disposable gloves continues to be strong and is projected to grow for years to come. For 2024, the researchers expect demand for gloves to rise 30% to 390 billion pieces and resume organic growth of 15% year over year thereafter.
