A study by the US-based Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com says, COVID-19 is transforming the global market for non-woven-based PPE products as producers are expanding capacities to avoid supply shortfalls

This capacity expansion also aims to mitigate lost sales in other key markets, like automobile and furniture manufacturing, both of which are declining amid the pandemic due to dampened consumer spending.

According to the study, demand for meltblown non-wovens is projected to grow by12 per cent in 2020 and by 6.3 per cent per year till 2024 to $6.71 billion. The surging demand for meltblown nonwovens, used in crucial medical supplies like masks, caused supply shortages and price hikes that were offset by losses in the large automotive filter market, as the need to combat the spread of COVID-19 boosted use of protective gear, said the Freedonia Group in a press release. Like meltblown, demand for spunbond non-wovens is forecast to grow by 3.3 per cent annually till 2024 to 5.23 million metric tonne. Demand for this product was boosted by a surge in demand for medical and hygiene product applications in the first half of 2020 due to the pandemic.