COVID-19 Impact on Glassware in Chemicals and Materials Industry
Glassware is a table drinkware product that is often found in hotels & restaurants, bars & cafe, corporate canteens, household and among others. Manufacturers used soda-lime, lead glass, and among other materials for making glass products. It is a fully transparent and heat resistant, has excellent chemical inertness, and is used in a wide variety of applications. However, due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, most industrial plants have been shut down, and glassware products demand has been negatively impacted, affecting production facilities for many months which also resulted in the disintegration of the global supply chain. Economic insecurity caused by the pandemic has also caused investors in the public and private sectors to reconsider their investments as debts mount. This has caused a downturn in the building industry.
AFTERMATH OF COVID-19 AND GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO BOOST THE GLOBAL GLASSWARE MARKET
The government has taken many steps to ensure the availability of raw materials by keeping track of the supply and demand of the intermediate products since they are used to make the final products that reach the consumers. Alongside, the government is also taking action like providing subsidy for raw materials, supporting the domestic producers with short-term loans among others. to assist SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and local manufacturers engaged in the production of glassware products
STRATEGIC DECISIONS FOR MANUFACTURERS AFTER COVID-19 TO GAIN COMPETITIVE MARKET SHARE
The manufacturing sector was one of the most damaged by COVID-19. The new Coronavirus developed in China, which is home to the vast majority of facilities that supply raw materials to various production units across the world. Several steps have been taken to increase international cooperation among the countries to promote investments and improve the ease of doing business inside the nations. New and existing projects have been given a kick start by inviting technological innovations supported by the government. Besides, the government has given financial support to local producers and SMEs and also helped them in providing subsidized and discounted raw materials.
IMPACT ON PRICE
The worldwide glassware market is extremely fragmented, with several small and big competitors competing on price and quality. Due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for glassware products have seen a severe downfall since May, 2020 which resulted in the fluctuation of the prices for these products. As local producers and SMEs have been majorly affected due to this pandemic, the local demand couldn’t be catered up to the meet, which thereby forced the price to drop, affecting the total glassware market. Also, the availability of items in large quantities creates a large stock, which drives the price to decline, consequently affecting the broader market.
IMPACT ON DEMAND
The major sector of the glassware market is the hotels & restaurants, bars & cafe, corporate canteens since a major part of the demand for glassware products comes from this particular unit. The hotels & restaurants, bars & cafe of the sector that had to suffer the burden of COVID-19. Furthermore, the disposable income of the consumers also experienced a sharp fall which in turn restricted the demand for these goods, hence creating uncertainties in the overall glass market.
IMPACT ON SUPPLY CHAIN
The global Coronavirus pandemic has put the contemporary global supply chain to the test like never before. It had a genuinely global impact, causing many fractures in numerous supply chains like component suppliers, production locations, and customers' last mile. It is difficult, if not impossible, for businesses to maintain efficient supply while having redundancy across all of their processes.
Due to a ban on inter-state travel, the supply chain also suffered as a result of the emigration of migrant workers. It also increased operating costs because commodity prices (raw materials for the construction industry) are scarce. In this situation, both manufacturers and consumers are facing issues with the timely availability of raw materials.
CONCLUSION
Glassware is widely utilized in the hotels & restaurants, bars sector because to its numerous applications, which vary from heat insulation to soundproofing and from safety applications to sun protection. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused substantial obstacles to global supply chains. Due to shut down of hotels & restaurants, bars, the demand for glass products has faced decline in many regions/country. Repeated nationwide curfews and shutdowns continue to hamper or even halt the movement of raw materials and completed goods, causing manufacturers to suffer. Manufacturing and distribution issues are likely the most visible disturbances to all types of chemical markets. But simultaneously, the government of every country is taking various measures and actions in order to overcome the effects of the pandemic.
