During the past 12 months, much has been written about efforts to ramp up the supply chain for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the U.S., which was seriously undersupplied prior to the Coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to the Department of Commerce in late December, INDA president Dave Rousse highlighted how members of the nonwoven supply chain went into overdrive to assist in these efforts.

Noting that prior to the start of the pandemic, more than 80% of U.S. demand for medical products and surgical face masks was supplied by China and Taiwan, Rousse reported how the U.S. was left scrambling for these products in March and April, just as healthcare workers were being inundated with infected patients.

In the short term, makers of nonwovens shifted operations to make more room for essential items like masks and gowns; pilot lines were used to make these products and every piece of material was put into use.

Longer term, production of face masks and their key substrate, fine fiber meltblown nonwovens, is set to explode in the U.S. During the final three quarters of 2020, more than 35 meltblown lines have been ordered, and face mask and respirator investment has been just as strong.

As these new investments come onstream over the next 12-24 months, the market will be inundated with new capacity, which will likely lead to price erosion and intense competition. To ensure the health of these companies—and to guarantee a supply chain for these materials continues to exist in North America—Rousse proposed several pieces of public policy. INDA recommends several measures including using tax payer dollars exclusively for PPE materials made in the U.S.; government supporting for capital investment in PPE; maintaining a robust domestic supply chain through a Strategic National Stockpile (SNS); creating federal incentives for private sector purchases and providing funding assistance for companies that buy locally produced PPE.

And, just days into the Biden Administration, it seems that much of this will become a reality. Under the Buy American executive order signed by President Joe Biden on January 25, the federal government will invest hundreds of billions of dollars in buying American products and materials to modernize infrastructure, and our competitive strength will increase in a competitive world—surely PPE will be a key component of this infrastructure.

For nonwovens producers who have already shifted their operations into overdrive—to help protect healthcare workers and slow the spread of the Coronavirus—this executive order will hopefully provide them with security that demand for U.S.-made PPE will continue to be strong.


Karen McIntyre
Editor
kmcintyre@rodmanmedia.com