NEWS RELEASE                                                                                     March 2020

Air Filter Market - Short Term and Permanent Impact of Coronavirus

Sales and prices of air filters have soared in the last two months. Suppliers need guidance as to when the sales will peak and what will be the permanent impact on the air filter industry. This virus is communicated through the air for days by victims who are initially asymptomatic. Mortality rates are ten times higher than with the 2009-10 event. The combination is very potent.

The coronavirus is being compared to 9/11.  The reaction to this event which killed 3000 people was to spend trillions of dollars to make sure it will never happen again. A Bloomberg estimate on March 6 that this pandemic will cost the world economy $2.7 trillion needs to be revised based on the acceleration of economic impacts just in the last week.

The emotional impact is proving to be even greater than the economic. The cancellation of national sports events, schools, conferences and even travel between countries will have a lasting effect. 

The result is likely to be a demand for air purification improvements and willingness to pay the price. The image of waiting rooms with no protection against virus transmission will influence purchase decisions for decades. The findings of various research institutions that the coronavirus can travel through HVAC ductwork will influence decisions for air filter selection in commercial, industrial and even residential buildings.

The 14-day self-isolation will lead to robust room purifiers in multifamily dwellings to avoid repetition of the Diamond Princess experience. Creative thinking will even lead to renting of room purifiers for the isolation period.

The pandemic will lead to greater focus on formaldehyde and other organic gases. Already in China there is a willingness to invest in high efficiency filters just to purify the building intake air.  Monitors inside commercial and government buildings have electronic continuous displays of PM 2.5 levels. New low-cost multi-metal analyzers can alert communities of spikes in toxic metal concentrations (e.g. lead in St Louis). These measurements will spur filter investment.

The McIlvaine Air Filtration and Purification report is providing continuing assessment of all the developments and revising market forecasts accordingly. There are Updates and client briefings Air Filtration Coronavirus Alert - March 12, 2020

The  continuing assessment of the coronavirus will be similar to the one for gas turbine inlet filters which is also addressed in the service See Example

Details on the report are found at http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets/air/n022-air-filtration-and-purification-world-market

You can view a presentation on the report at: https://youtu.be/b182d30y9SE

A similar initiative on masks and respirators is detailed at http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets/air/n7f-masks-respirators-world-markets

Bob Mcilvaine can answer your questions at 847 226 2391 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.