Shortage Of Disposable Safety Gloves

PPE has been flying off the shelves faster than most companies can order it. As a result, the disposable vinyl, nitrile and latex glove supply chains are still strained in the fourth quarter of 2020, and we expect this to continue through 2021.

This challenging marketplace has many contributing factors including unprecedented demand, raw material shortages and raw material allocations. Industry experts estimate that the total demand for disposable safety gloves has doubled, and in some cases tripled as compared to pre-COVID demand.

Extreme shortages of raw materials have led to the reduced allocation of NBR (Nitrile Raw Material) and natural rubber latex to glove factories. Raw material allocations are so extreme that some factories have temporarily shuttered their operations.

Disposable Nitrile Gloves

The disposable nitrile glove supply chain is in worse shape than latex or vinyl. According to our disposable glove suppliers, there are two main corporate companies that manufacture nitrile gloves in China. The larger of the two recently shut down 28 facilities due to COVID-19 issues. This will put pressure on the other companies to pick up the slack, creating more delays and price hikes as the demand increases. The disposable nitrile glove supply is also strained because factories are producing more latex and vinyl instead of nitrile gloves.

Lastly, there has been a reduction in the production of thicker nitrile disposable gloves, where we are seeing more 3 and 4 mil nitrile disposable gloves coming to market. There is also a shortage of exam-grade disposable gloves because they take longer to be tested, processed and shipped.

Greeno Supply reviews the disposable glove market and stays up to date on other material shortages (including a recent increase in plastic pricing) on a weekly basis for our customers. We are currently placing purchase orders three months ahead of time to reserve space on containers coming into the US.

At the end of 2020, we urged our customers to pre-order disposable gloves in bulk (at least a 3 month supply) to make sure they have enough supply for the new year and to help them avoid rapid price increases.

Greeno Supply would be happy to give you a quote based on your glove requirements or we can suggest alternatives. If you need help sourcing disposable gloves, please fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch shortly.