The clamor for plastic barriers outpaces supply

A demand for plastic barriers that first surged in March from retailers such as grocery, hardware and auto parts stores needing to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to grow and putting pressure on the supply chain.

Big-box retailers including Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe's were among the first in line for sheets of clear acrylic to use as virus-blocking shields between employees and patrons of their thousands of stores.

While polycarbonate and thin-gauge glycol-modified PET can be used as substitutes, demand is also very high for those materials for face shields.

The run on clear, plastic barriers has caused an extreme global shortage of acrylic, PC and PETG sheeting at a time another wave of demand for the materials is about to crash.

Hung from ceilings or bolted to conveyor belt systems, plastic barriers stop air droplets from spreading the deadly respiratory illness when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.

Now another tier of businesses is reopening in some states and the search for plastic barriers is getting harder. Nail salons, hair salons, libraries, casinos and restaurants are placing orders for the protective products, but they won't likely be delivered until October or November.

Global demand for clear plastic has doubled from a year ago and lead times are as far out as six months, according to Craig Saunders, president of the International Association of Plastics Distribution and director of supplier relations and logistics for Irving, Texas-based North American Plastics.

Founded in 1956, the Overland Park, Kan.-based trade association serves the distributors, fabricators, manufacturers and recyclers of performance plastics, which have properties making them strong, lightweight, flexible, durable, sheer and environmentally friendly.

"Demand far exceeds the supply, and lead times for anything clear are out 22-24 weeks or more," Saunders said in a phone interview.

The acrylic shortage is exacerbated, he added, because use of the material had been steadily waning for about a decade.

"Roughly 60 percent of acrylic use historically went into retail signs, point of purchase and store fixtures, but demand had declined because of the Amazon effect," Saunders said of consumer shopping habits shifting away from brick-and-mortar stores to e-commerce.

"Now that's completely turned around. Now there's not enough capacity in the world to meet current demand," he said.

The extreme shortage of acrylic and other clear plastic materials doesn't even take into account the reopening of U.S. universities and schools in the fall, Saunders said.

For example, desktop barriers are being used in Netherlands to protect students from the virus. U.S. educators are considering similar measures, according to J.T. Seesholtz, sales manager at Professional Plastics in Twinsburg, Ohio.

Founded in 1984, the family-owned and -operated business is a distributor and fabricator with 20 stocking locations for plastic sheets, rods, tubing, films and parts in the U.S., Singapore and Taiwan. Professional Plastics has become the largest supplier of advanced engineering plastic shapes in North America and Asia with annual revenue exceeding $185 million, the company website says.

Seesholtz said he has been in touch with some regional education leaders about what classrooms will be like as some schools return to in-person learning after months of remote learning. He said he hasn't received a lot of feedback yet except for a proposal that teachers might rotate classrooms instead of students to limit spread of the virus.

Still, Seesholtz and Professional Plastics are bracing for an onslaught of orders to come from school districts, colleges and universities.

"I get a hit list every morning from our website," the sales manager said. "A third of the 200-plus leads every day are from universities and schools. We want to position ourselves to respond for the kids. That's important to us."

A lot of businesses are positioning themselves to meet the increased need. Architectural Plastics in Petaluma, Calif., went from fabricating acrylic wine racks and display cases to face masks and now plastic barriers for banks, restaurants and casinos.

"This is our immediate future," CEO Blake Miremont told the local ABC7 News affiliate. "Plastic social distancing guards."

Also called "COVID barriers" and "self-distancing shields," plastic sheet custom orders keep coming to the Oklahoma City sales office of Allied Plastic Supply, a plastic fabricator and manufacturer.

For a nail salon, Allied fabricated barriers that have holes just large enough for customers to put their hands through to the nail technician on the other side. The public library wants to hang shields from the ceiling to protect staff working the checkout desk, and a casino is interested in plastic barriers between slot machines.

"Any place where there's face-to-face customer interaction, we're trying to develop styles that allow for that protection," Sheryl Gipson, a salesperson at Allied Plastic Supply, told the Associated Press.

But she isn't sure how much longer they can be so accommodating.

"The problem is going to be sourcing the material," Gipson said. "There still are domestic suppliers of acrylic, but they're running flat out trying to keep up with demand. It's hard."

Ramone Gumke, operations manager at Newman Signs in Jamestown, N.D., has been urging potential customers to order soon since early May.

The business repurposed its acrylic cutting equipment from producing signs to barriers to meet brisk demand from all over the country, including the U.S. Postal Service and medical offices.

"In about three weeks, we and similar manufacturers will be out of the raw acrylic," Gumke told NewsDakota.com on May 6.

Then, there's San Diego Plastics, which has created plastic barriers for a local hospital, area Popeyes chicken outlets and the cars of Uber drivers. Business is up 20-30 percent compared to the same time last year, Sales Director Steven Stacy told the San Diego Union Tribune.
John Short, general manager of ePlastics, a sheet, rod and tube fabricator in Kearny Mesa, Calif., said fabricators are finding creative solutions to protect business workers and clients. His staff helped local hospital officials find a way to use plastic barriers to examine patients at Sharp Healthcare and Rady Children's Hospital.

The hospital and ePlastics staff developed an acrylic box with an opening to put a shield between patients and doctors. Patients lie down in it and doctors put their hands through two holes to examine or treat the person.

Short told NBC San Diego he is impressed with the innovation in the industry.

"The standard is there is no standard. We're creating things every day that are different, and that's an important part of our country and an important part of our history and it should be an important part of our future," Short said.

The strong demand for clear plastic sheets is expected to continue for the rest of the year and into 2021, Saunders said.

A lot of businesses are looking at ways to boost the supply, Saunders said, but it won't happen in the near future.

"It's difficult for the converters that make sheet to increase capacity beyond what they have. The equipment takes a long time to install. And nobody significant has converted their production over to meet the demand. But there are talks," Saunders said. "A lot of sheet producers of [a] variety of polymers are looking at their capabilities to see if they can get into clear sheet to meet demand."

As an alternative, clear PVC rigid sheet and clear polystyrene sheet could be used for some applications, Saunders said. Translucent plastics are an option for workplace barriers, especially as offices reverse the trend of no or low-walled cubicles with raised partitions.

The shortage in other materials could leave some businesses waiting months for safety shields, which Saunders said begs another question.

"Will businesses wait to open until they have some type of protection?" he asked.

"My guess: I don't think they will. If you're given the OK to open a retail store, I don't think you'll wait to open until you get a barrier. And if somebody thinks they're going to get a barrier anytime soon, it's probably not going to happen."

Saunders said he thinks a lot of employers will offer workers face shields or at a minimum face masks and then reopen.