Over the past couple of years, we have been bombarded by bad news vis-à-vis world health issues. The number of outbreaks of different diseases around the world that are resistant to antibiotics is rising.
Where's the good news you ask? Due to the increase in drug-resistant diseases worldwide, new, innovative therapies are evolving along with an increase in antibiotic drug investment.
Who uses GlovesByWeb as their large volume disposable glove supplier? Casinos in the Midwest and Southwest have been getting their gloves shipped to them by GlovesByWeb in volume. With an average hotel size in the casinos of 290 rooms, the demands of food and beverage service staff, housekeeping, environmental services and even bellhops are high.
What are they buying? The majority of the disposable gloves supplied by GlovesByWeb to casinos are vinyl, primarily used by food and beverage service. Housekeeping generally uses nitrile gloves with a minority still using latex gloves. Environmental services generally uses nitrile as well.
For a high demand, high volume industry like casinos, GlovesByWeb's high quality products, large volume shipment capabilities and an inventory with the necessary variety of disposable glove materials, whether it be nitrile, latex or vinyl, makes it a sure bet!
Contact us to find out how we can meet your needs.
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A recent Louisiana Supreme Court ruling may mean refunds for health care providers in Louisiana for many treatment items, e.g. gloves, masks, etc.
In April, the Louisiana Supreme Court denied writs that were sought as a result of a Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal ruling. This ruling addressed the Louisiana Department of Revenue's denial of a refund claim. The plaintiffs (Medical Diagnostic Services, Inc. and Baton Rouge General Medical Center) claimed refunds for taxes paid from January, 1991 through December, 1992.
As a result of this decision, hospitals are now entitled to a substantial tax refund for state sales and use taxes paid on various healthcare items which were actually exempt. In light of this ruling, providers should file for a refund on any open years for taxes paid on the exempt items. See our collection of the many items that were deemed exempt, including such items as latex and other disposable gloves, lab coats,masks, and shoe covers.
To learn more about the ruling, visit this review.
Between January 1, 2011 and March 2, 2011 there were 679 cases of Influenza A (H1N1) recorded in Malaysia. Three of the cases resulted in death. In addition to the cases reported by the Malaysian Ministry of Health, Egypt, Indonesia, Cambodia, South Korea, and Hong Kong have also reported new cases of the H5N1 virus (avian flu).
According to researchers at MIT, a newly discovered mutation of the H1N1 virus appears to allow easier transmission among humans. Although this does not guarantee that a pandemic will occur, it does make it a more likely threat.
When the H1N1 pandemic peaked back in 2009, there was a severe impact on disposable glove sales. Given that disposable gloves are the first line of defense against such attacks, 2009 saw world-wide sales increase by over 22 billion pieces (approximately an 18% increase year-over-year). Of that total, roughly half could be directly attributable to the H1N1 virus. The upward spike in orders caused a three to four month backlog from the glove manufacturers. With the backlog of glove orders came higher glove prices. Should there be a marked increase in A (H1N1) cases in the coming months, the probability is high of another surge in demand for disposable gloves.
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The wintering period may sound like the time of year that the snow birds, aka retirees from the northern United States, travel south for the winter months to escape the many inconveniences that snow can cause. The context referred to here does not relate to snow at all, but to the coldest months in places where rubber is grown. So what does the wintering period have to do with the price of latex gloves in the United States and the rest of the world?
The wintering period is an annual event that falls between February and May. During this period, which lasts approximately 4 to 6 weeks, the leaves of the rubber tree die and fall off, and new leaves are formed. Both the metabolism of the tree and latex production are substantially affected. Accordingly, rubber production is normally low during the rainy season. During the wintering period, rubber production shrinks 45 % to 60% from the peak.
These seasonal variations are important factors influencing the latex glove market. Latex glove distributors tend to restock inventories in anticipation of even higher latex prices during the wintering period. Typically, after the wintering period ends, there is a marked increase in the supply of latex.
There are, of course, many factors that affect supply and demand in the disposable latex glove market. Seasonality of the harvest, as mentioned above, is just one factor. Tsunamis, earthquakes, blight (notably the South American Leaf Blight), price speculation, pandemics, adverse weather/growing conditions, competition for farm land from other grains, etc. are exogenous factors that guide supply and demand and which ultimately determine disposable glove prices. The vast majority of natural rubber (NR) goes towards the production of tires and tire manufacturers tend to get the raw materials before glove manufacturers as there is limited supply. Therefore, it is hard to predict the price effect on latex gloves.
The three largest rubber producing countries are Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, which account for roughly 72% of the world's NR exports. Generally speaking, the major areas affected by wintering lie in a tropical belt between 20 degrees N and 10 degrees S.
It mostly affects supply, but supply, in turn, impacts demand. Since the factories always seem to run at full capacity, any glitch causes suppliers to rush out and buy as much inventory as they can in order to avoid being stocked-out.
In summary, supply of NR decreases annually during the wintering period, so glove manufacturers try to account for this. But any unanticipated increase in demand will reduce inventory levels and will likely lead to price hikes in the end product, latex gloves.