Frost & Sullivan: Hazard-Prone Maritime Transportation Industry Intensifies Focus on Personal Protection Equipment

Personal protection equipment (PPE) is gaining traction in the marine transportation industry, which is fraught with various hazards. As a significant share of global trade takes place through the maritime route, the industry will continue to throw up opportunities for PPE manufacturers. To take full advantage of these trends, PPE manufacturers will need to develop innovative products that can address commonly-faced hazards.

The new market engineering study from Frost & Sullivan, Personal Protective Equipment in Marine Transportation, covers the segments of gas detectors, protective footwear, workwear and protective clothing, protective gloves as well as respiratory, fall and above-the-neck protection. Respiratory protection, fall protection, protective gloves and hearing protection are expected to witness faster growth rates than the other segments.

“Improved implementation of safety regulations is fuelling compliance with PPE requirements,” said Frost & Sullivan Chemicals, Materials & Food Senior Research Analyst Aparna Balasubramanian. “This, along with enhanced awareness on the benefits of using appropriate PPE among shipping lines is supporting market expansion.”

However, increasing automation of different tasks related to marine transportation is reducing the need for manual labour and thus affecting the development of the PPE market. Some shipping lines also continue to opt for inexpensive PPE from low-cost manufacturing hubs to cut costs.

“Clearly, manufacturers still have to educate some sections of the market and demonstrate the medium- to long-term cost benefits of investing in more expensive but suitable PPE,” noted Balasubramanian. “Concurrently, manufacturers will have to sharpen their focus on designing innovative PPE that is distinguished by high comfort levels, affordability, and a pricing strategy that matches local market realities.”
Source: Frost & Sullivan