Personal Protective Equipment Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Hand Protection, Eye Protection, Face Protection), By End-use (Construction, Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Food), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030

PPE Market Size & Trends

The global personal protective equipment market size was over USD 79.53 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2024 to 2030. Increasing awareness regarding worker safety on the workshop floor is expected to increase the demand for PPE over the forecast period. Various industries in the Asia Pacific, such as construction, food manufacturing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, have been enjoying significant growth through rising investments from public and private entities. The growing awareness about personal protective equipment and the rising industrial sector is expected to fuel the growth of the PPE market over the forecast period. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly influenced the PPE market, leading to a surge in demand for protective gear. The healthcare sector, in particular, experienced an acute need for PPE such as masks, gloves, and gowns.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on the U.S. PPE market. The heightened awareness of infectious disease transmission has led to increased demand for a wide range of PPE products. The U.S. PPE market is subject to stringent government regulations and standards that ensure the safety and efficacy of protective equipment. Regulatory compliance is a key factor shaping the market, with manufacturers focusing on meeting these standards. The regulatory landscape is dynamic, responding to emerging health threats and technological advancements, thereby influencing the design, production, and distribution of PPE.

Constant innovations, such as introducing comfortable, lighter, high-quality fabric industrial protective equipment, are expected to bolster market growth. Market expansion is expected to be facilitated by demand for protective gears that combine safety with aesthetics and advanced technology. The increasing awareness among industry experts and players regarding the importance of the safety of employees and secure workplaces on account of the stringent regulations and the high cost associated with workplace dangers is anticipated to boost personal protective equipment demand in the market. Companies have prioritized employee safety by establishing safety guidelines to reduce workplace accidents and injuries, boosting market growth.

The COVID-19 outbreak had a positive impact on the personal protective equipment market growth in 2020. Personal protective equipment use was one of the strategies implemented by the governments of various nations to mitigate the spread of the disease. PPE for preventing COVID-19 infection includes medical masks, gloves, goggles, and aprons. This escalated the growth of numerous related markets, such as the military personal protective equipment market, law enforcement personal protective equipment market, and many others.

Market Concentration & Characteristics

Industry growth stage is medium, and pace of the market growth is accelerating. Strict regulations and greater awareness of the significance of protecting people at work have boosted demand for some forms of PPE in recent years. In addition, rising management executive concerns toward employee health and safety coupled with rising COVID-19 cases led to an increase in demand for personal protective equipment.

The industry focuses on research & development activities to develop new technologies for the manufacturing of products and integration across various stages of the value chain to gain a competitive edge in the market. Strategies adopted by the companies usually include product portfolio expansion, product development, and distribution network expansion.

Rising demand for contract-based manufacturing of PPE designed according to distributor specifications is more common in the developed economies such as North America and Western Europe. Factors such as improved technical support and rising awareness on the price-performance ratio of products are expected to boost the demand for private labels.

The Asian countries, especially China, India, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, have witnessed improved manufacturing capabilities over the last decade. Several multinational companies across several industries have invested heavily in establishing domestic subsidiaries and world-class manufacturing facilities, including industrial safety and even PPE/protective clothing facilities across the region. Prime factors behind the surging PPE manufacturing in the region include the abundant availability of a low-cost workforce along with easy access to raw material suppliers.

Products Insights

The hand protection segment held the largest revenue share in 2023, accounting for 27.6% of the global market. Personal protective gloves are worn to protect hands from injuries from abrasions, cuts, burns, and reactions to chemicals. Health risks linked with hazardous chemicals, heavy-duty equipment, and handling hot objects are likely to facilitate demand for protective gloves in various industries such as construction, food processing, oil & gas, healthcare, and metal fabrication.

Protective clothing, such as chemical defending, cleanroom clothing, heat & flame protection, and mechanical protective clothing, is the second-largest product segment. Rising accidents, deaths, and injuries drive the demand for protective clothing supported by their characteristics such as high performance, better quality, high wear and tear, etc.

The head protection market is expected to grow due to rising fatalities in the workplace and high product demand. Growing awareness of workers’ safety and health, in addition to rising industrial fatalities, mainly in developing economies owing to lack of head protection, is anticipated to steer the market growth over the forecast period.

Worker safety and sustainability have become more important in various end-use industries. Multiple organizations in the U.S., such as OSHA, NIOSH, and the EPA, have amended the standards to make them stricter, requiring businesses to provide PPE. Mounting demand primarily from the mining, petrochemical, construction, cement, fertilizers, coal, and oil & gas sectors is expected to drive the segment growth over the forecast period.

End-use Insights

The manufacturing end-use segment led the market in 2023. The manufacturing industry has been increasingly integrating advanced technologies into PPE to enhance worker safety and efficiency. Smart PPE, including wearables and connected devices, has gained traction. These technologies provide real-time monitoring of environmental conditions, worker health, and potential hazards.

The overhead costs associated with workshop mortalities or injuries are anticipated to augment the demand for PPE in the construction sector over the forecast period. The growing construction industry, particularly in India and China, is expected to boost the demand for the product over the forecast period. In addition, increasing awareness regarding employee safety is anticipated to fuel product demand in the Asia Pacific region.

In the rising food manufacturing industry, due to the unhygienic conditions of the surroundings and workers, various products are at high risk of getting contaminated. The food industry includes various processes, including cutting, mixing, cleaning, and storage, which demand personal protective equipment for safety procedures. The strengthening of industrial rules and regulations is expected to fuel the demand for PPE.

Across the U.S., various efforts are underway to improve the resilience of the supply chain of PPE. Such strategies are broadly classified into three types: increasing domestic production, storage, and supply chain monitoring. Furthermore, the U.S. FDA has issued an enforcement mandate to increase the accessibility of PPE for healthcare workers. This is expected to fuel the growth of the healthcare personal protective equipment market in the coming years.

Regional Insights

Europe accounted for the largest revenue share in the global market in 2023, owing to a developed industrial platform along with extensive adoption of products in the various sectors. High product penetration across European countries is attributed to a strict regulatory environment along with severe penalties for non-compliance, driving companies to use PPE regularly.

In Europe, most core industries, such as metal manufacturing, oil and gas, automotive, and petroleum refining, are boosting the demand for personal protective equipment for safety purposes. The rising number of injuries in workplaces coupled with growing demand for high wear and tear products in the region are encouraging the use of personal protective equipment and fueling the market growth. Moreover, the rising instances of armed conflict in the region are anticipated to propel the demand for military personal protective equipment and law enforcement personal protective equipment market in the coming years.

Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest growth rate over the forecast period owing to significant economic development and industrialization across the region. Asia Pacific is characterized by burgeoning pharmaceutical, healthcare, mining, and construction industries, which extensively use respiratory products such as disposable & non-disposable respirators, self-contained breathing apparatus, powered air purifying respirators, escape respirators, and airline respirators to avoid workplace fatalities. This is anticipated to drive the market over the coming years.

Middle East & Africa Personal Protective Equipment Market

Growing oil & gas industry in the Middle East is expected to drive PPE demand over the forecast period. Large-scale investments in major oilfields of Saudi Arabia such as Ghawar and Shaybah are expected to play a major role in oil & gas industry. Increasing domestic demand for natural gas coupled with the deployment of advanced techniques such as EOR has further steered natural gas production in the region. This is expected to drive the demand for PPE in oil & gas industry in the region.

India Personal Protective Equipment Market

India has been adopting the high standards of occupational health and safety at a steady rate. However, the condition is anticipated to improve with the emergence of an educated workforce in the sectors, leading to awareness and influence of the global economy. Increasing concern regarding compensation costs on account of rising number of injury cases in various industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and chemicals is anticipated to promote the adoption of workplace safety regulations in India.

Key Personal Protective Equipment Insights

Key players actively focus on product innovation, joint ventures, mergers & acquisitions. Innovations in design, materials, and manufacturing processes that increase the quality of the product led to an increase in demand for PPE.

• In February 2023, Ansell Ltd. announced the acquisition of Careplus (M) Sdn Bhd (Careplus). This acquisition increased Ansell’s production capacity of surgical gloves to meet the growing global demand, strengthen its supply chain, and ensure greater control over the quality of its products.

• In August 2022, Supermax Corp Bhd's subsidiary, Supermax Healthcare Canada, unveiled a strategic partnership with Minco Wholesale & Supply Inc. through a formal agreement. This collaboration entails distributing Canadian manufacturer Supermax's products throughout North America. These offerings encompass rubber gloves, masks, and non-woven cotton medical products.

Personal Protective Equipment Market Report Scope

Global Personal Protective Equipment Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional & country levels and provides an analysis on the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the personal protective equipment market based on product, end-use and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2023 - 2030)

  • Head Protection

    • Hard Hats

    • Bump Caps

  • Eye Protection

    • Safety Glasses

    • Goggles

  • Face Protection

    • Full Face Shields

    • Half Face Shields

  • Hearing Protection

    • Earmuffs

    • Earplugs

  • Protective Clothing

    • Heat & flame protection

    • Chemical defending

    • Clean room clothing

    • Mechanical protective clothing

    • Limited general use

    • Others

  • Respiratory Protection

    • Air-purifying respirator

    • Supplied air respirators

  • Protective Footwear

    • Leather

    • Rubber

    • PVC

    • Polyurethane

    • Others

  • Fall Protection

    • Soft Goods

    • Hard Goods

    • Others

  • Hand Protection

    • Disposable by Type

      • General purpose

      • Chemical handling

      • Sterile gloves

      • Surgical

      • Others

    • Disposable by Material

      • Natural Rubber

      • Nitrile

      • Vinyl

      • Neoprene

      • Polyethylene

      • Others

    • Durable

      • Mechanical gloves

      • Chemical handling

      • Thermal/flame retardant

      • Others

  • Others

• End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2023 - 2030)

  • Construction

  • Manufacturing

  • Oil & Gas

  • Chemicals

  • Food

  • Pharmaceuticals

  • Healthcare

  • Transportation

  • Mining

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2023 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • France

    • Germany

    • Italy

    • Russia

    • Scandinavia

    • Spain

    • UK

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • South Korea

    • Indonesia

    • Australia

    • Thailand

    • Malaysia

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

    • Argentina

  • Middle East & Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • UAE

    • South Africa