The global harness market is projected to witness a compound annual growth rate of 5.56% and reach US$83.532 billion by 2029 from US$57.182 billion in 2022.
With labor safety becoming a growing concern worldwide, harnesses are a device that could protect workers from fall hazards and minimize the risk of injuries. They allow one to attach to an immovable object, thus ensuring one will not hit the ground if one trips or falls from a height.
According to the International Labor Organization, about 3 million workers die every year due to work-related hazards and diseases. Worker comfort, fit, and ease of use are key considerations for safety harnesses. Different types of harnesses are available, such as general fall arrest, ladder climbing harness, work positioning harness, confined space entry/retrieval harness, descent, and suspension harness.
According to the MSHA, slips and falls are one of the primary causes of injuries and deaths in mining operations. Therefore, high-quality and sturdy safety harnesses are necessary. Adjustments such as leg straps, shoulder straps, waist belts, and chest straps are necessary for comfort and positioning. The products come in different sizes, such as small, medium, large, XL, and 2XL.
Global Harness Market Drivers:
Mining is an activity that provides essential raw materials for all industries. It is essential for a country's overall industrial development. In the fiscal year 2023, India's mineral production is projected to reach US$14.37 billion. In the fiscal year 2022, mineral production was recorded at US$24.95 billion. India holds the fourth position globally in terms of iron ore production. Iron ore production in the fiscal year 2021 amounted to 204.48 million tonnes.
Additionally, transitioning to clean energy requires significant quantities of materials. Essential minerals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, neodymium, and bulk materials like steel, cement, plastics, and aluminium, are essential for various technologies and infrastructure developments, including wind turbines, electric vehicle batteries, and electricity grids. These developments will increase the demand for safety harnesses in the market for better equipment and worker safety.
According to the ILO, work accidents account for an additional 330,000 deaths. Better standardized practices, such as the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) frameworks by the International Labour Organization (ILO), are needed for workers' safety, which address specific hazards, risks, sectors, and occupations. Strengthening coordination, partnerships, and investment also includes enhancing governance.
Further, safety instructions, such as MSHA, provide training and instructions for fall hazards. Useful instructions include that anchorages and anchorage connectors need to be separate and capable of sustaining a load of 5,000 pounds. They also give MSHA approval for products and suggest that every harness must have a legible tag identifying the harness, model, date of manufacture, name of manufacturer, limitations, and warnings.
Growing construction activities have been a major sector employing more laborers. In the US, in February 2024, construction spending was estimated at an annualized rate of $2,091.5 billion. In 2023, there were 1,0,19,090 Employment estimates in the construction Laborers. Residential Building Construction employs 1,32,700 laborers, 1,21,530 for Utility System Construction, and 1,13,670 for Nonresidential Building Construction. These laborers do all jobs and need numerous safety equipment and instruments.
In developing countries like India, the Budget 2023-24 increases capital investment outlay for infrastructure by 33% to US$122 billion, which would be 3.3% of GDP. The budget emphasizes the growth of the industry and the related equipment needed for it.
Global Harness Market Restraint:
Safety harnesses can be expensive. This can be a barrier for small and medium-sized businesses in economically developing regions. Lack of awareness of workplace safety is also responsible for the industry's slow growth. Many times, safety harnesses require specific training for proper use, which takes time and money. However, the regulation of human life creates a demand for the market.
Global Harness Market Segment Analysis
Global harness market segmentation by end-user construction, oil & gas, mining, energy & utilities, and others. Construction is one of the largest employing sectors in the world; with the growth of urbanization, the need for safety harnesses will also increase. In oil & gas, globally, there are several oil-extracting sites with increasing demand for energy in the developing economies. The need for oil and gas will increase, as well as the need for safety harnesses for the laborers working on the site.
For adaptation to clean energy, different types of metals are required for making batteries and equipment, and increased mining activities will lead to the sector’s growth. Energy and utilities: With increased demand for electricity, workers need safety equipment. Others include various industries such as agriculture, defense, recreation, forestry, and fishing, depending upon their uses and applications.
APAC is anticipated to hold a significant share of the global harness market
The Asia-Pacific region will constitute a notable share of the global harness market due to rapid industrialization, growing awareness of workplace safety, and a surge in infrastructure projects. In 2023, the Chinese government announced an investment of $1.8 trillion to boost major projects such as transport infrastructure, energy generation, and industrial parks.
As part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana, the Indian government launched a network of 35 Multimodal Logistics Parks slated for development, requiring an investment of approximately US$5.5 billion. Once operational, these parks are expected to have a capacity to handle around 700 million metric tonnes of cargo. Among these, Multimodal Logistics Parks at 15 prioritized locations will be established with a total investment of about US$2.6 billion.
Global Harness Market Developments:
Global Harness Market Players and Products:
Market Segmentation: