Global Disposable Masks & Respirators

Report Overview

This study provides essential data and analysis to help mask producers, distributors, raw material suppliers, and end users understand the factors that led up to the current masks shortages and where the market is going in 2020 and long term.

How will the COVID-19 coronavirus impact the global economy? The Freedonia Group is tracking recent developments and analyzing their impact in an easy to follow Economic Impact Tracker.

The study includes data on surgical masks (which include all disposable medical masks and consumer masks) and respirators in both units and dollars. Data is provided by region and for key countries and is analyzed by major markets including healthcare, manufacturing and construction, consumer and commercial applications.

Historical data is provided for 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and forecasts for 2020 and 2024.

Major regions are broken out by type (surgical masks, respirators) and market (healthcare, manufacturing & construction, consumer, and commercial).

Also included are discussions of virus trends, the economic impact of the pandemic, production, supply chains, capacity expansions, and suppliers.

Global demand for disposable masks and respirators is expected to increase nearly 170% in 2020 as countries around the globe work to protect their populations, especially healthcare workers, from contracting the COVID-19 virus:

• Growth in healthcare markets will come primarily in the first half of 2020, although high levels of demand for masks later in the year will be supported by consumer and commercial use as countries reopen their economies and until a vaccine or other treatment is developed.
• Demand for disposable masks worldwide has significantly surpassed levels seen during earlier SARS and H1N1 epidemics.

Longer term, demand is expected to return to more sustainable levels and is forecast to grow 5.7% per year to $3.5 billion in 2024.

Included within the scope of this study are:

• medical examination or procedure masks
• surgical masks
• personal masks (also known as courtesy masks)
• respirator masks certified to filter at least 94% of airborne particles, commonly known as N95, KN95, and FFP2 masks, among others (as well as oil-resistant versions of these)