Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Analysis By Product (Head, Eye & Face Protection, Hearing Protection, Protective Clothing (Heat & Flame, Chemical Defending, Clean Room Clothing, Mechanical Protective Clothing, Limited General Use), Respiratory Protection (Air-Purifying Respirators, Supplier Air Respirators), Protective Footwear, Fall Protection, Hand Protection (Disposable, Durable), By End-Use And Segment Forecasts To 2024

Industry Insights

The global personal protective equipment (PPE) market was valued at USD 38.38 billion in 2015. Stringent occupational health & safety regulations are expected to drive global personal protective equipment market growth over the forecast period. Mandated policies by agencies such as OSHA, NIOSH and NFPA have been enforcing employers to maintain worker’s safety in industries.

Additionally, the regulations require PPE to be assessed properly to make it fit for use along with proper maintenance and storage of the product which is expected to fuel the market growth for over the next seven years. Rising awareness towards safety and security at workplaces is estimated to raise personal protective equipment demand in near future. The rising number of workplace fatalities is enforcing employers to focus on employees’ health & safety which is anticipated to propel the market growth in near future.

Companies have prioritized worker’s safety and established safety guidelines to reduce workplace hazards that adversely impact operational costs in the form of compensation and arbitrated settlements. Huge costs associated with non-compliance of health & safety procedures is anticipated to foster PPE market growth over the forecast period. Growing manufacturing and construction industry in Asia Pacific and the Middle East is expected to propel PPE market growth over the forecast period on account of rising product demand from the end-use industries.

Product Insights

Hand protection dominated the global demand accounting for over 23% of the overall personal protective equipment revenue in 2015. High demand from various end-use industries including pharmaceuticals, food, chemicals, manufacturing and construction may be attributed to the high market penetration.

Fall protection is anticipated to witness rapid growth in terms of demand over the forecast period and is expected to reach a net worth exceeding USD 3,600 million by 2024. Growing construction industry in Asia Pacific and the Middle East is anticipated to remain a key factor driving the fall protection equipment demand over the forecast period.

Protective clothing is anticipated to witness substantial growth over the forecast period. Stringent government regulations regarding the safety of employees are forcing employers to comply with the industry standards, thereby increasing protective clothing demand. Growing awareness towards employee’s health and safety coupled with increasing industrial fatalities owing to lack of protective gear is anticipated to drive market growth over the next eight years.

Chemical defending garments emerged as a leading protective clothing application accounting for over 30% of the total demand in 2015. EPA categorized different level for chemical industrial protective clothing under occupational health and safety regulations which made it mandatory for organizations to provide their workers with outfits as per these regulations. This is anticipated to raise product demand over the next eight years.

Respiratory protective equipment (RPE) is anticipated to grow at an estimated CAGR of 7.0%over the next eight years. High demand may be attributed to increasing prevalence of respiratory and communicable diseases such as H1N1 and bird flu. This is further supported by surging RPE demand from various end-use industries including healthcare, mining, fire services & emergency response, and military forces to protect personnel against toxic vapors, hazardous gasses, chemical agents, particulates, radiological particles, and biological contaminants.

The air-purifying respirator was the leading respiratory protective equipment product segment and was valued at USD 2,810 million in 2015. They are used to protect employees against vapors and gasses that are at atmospheric concentrations less than that which are dangerous for health and life. Growing pharmaceutical and construction industry mainly in Asia Pacific is expected to drive demand in near future.

End-Use Insights

Manufacturing was the largest end-use segment in 2015 and is projected to remain the dominant segment over next eight years. The segment is estimated to witness significant growth rates on account of growing manufacturing industry in economies such as China and India. Favorable government initiatives such as “Make in India” are anticipated to fuel PPE demand from the particular end-use industry.

Construction is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period on account of increasing infrastructure spending in emerging economies such as India and China. Additionally, escalating PPE demand in the Middle East especially in oil & gas and construction industries is anticipated to impact market growth in the region positively. Transportation is anticipated to witness the highest growth over the next seven years on account of significant growth in emerging economies such as India, China, and Brazil.

PPE demand in transportation is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% over the next eight years. Growing transportation sector in emerging economies such as India and China coupled with rising workforce capacities is expected to augment product demand in future on account avoiding overhead costs such as compensation.

Regional Insights

Europe dominated the global personal protective equipment market in 2015 and is expected to remain the largest regional market over the forecast period. Increasing occupational fatalities coupled with the requirement for high durable mechanical wear resistance and high utility protective gears in most of the core industries such as refining, metal manufacturing, oil & gas, and automotive is anticipated to augment penetration of the segment over the forecast period.

Europe is expected to witness moderate growth rates in near future on account of rising automated manufacturing industry in the region. North America accounted for over 29% of the global PPE demand in 2015.North American market is characterized by stringent norms regarding occupational health & safety by regulatory bodies such as OSHA, ANSI, and CSA. These stringent norms are enforcing employers in the region to adopt personal protective equipment to ensure personnel health and safety.

High demand from various end-use industries as oil & gas, chemicals and manufacturing particularly in Canada is anticipated to augment product demand on account of rising workforce capacities. Product developments are aimed to serve various end-use industries to cater their safety requirements.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness highest growth over the foreseeable future owing to increasing product demand in construction and manufacturing industries especially in emerging economies including China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and India.

Competitive Insights

Global personal protective equipment market is highly fragmented with top five players accounted for just over 50% of the market share in 2015. Honeywell was the market leader with a total share of 24.5% of the global revenue in 2015. The company has continually been involved in R&D to develop various application specific products.

In April 2015, the company launched rigid rail fall arrest systems to provide workers with mobility and fall protection while working at height. In September 2014, the company introduced 1H half mask respirators that deliver better respiratory protection for healthcare workers against airborne infection diseases.

Other companies having a notable stake in the global PPE industry include Ansell, 3M, DuPont, MSA Safety, Lindstrom and Alpha Pro Tech Ltd. The majority of the companies were involved in product launches and development of innovative products.