What materials are commonly used to make pallets? While wood pallets dominate the North American market, other materials are also used to varying degrees. In addition to wood, we’ll touch upon plastic, wood composite, paper, and metal, putting the market share of those materials in perspective and examining the benefits of each approach.
Why Wood?
Far and away, solid wood is the material most used in pallet manufacturing. Combining wood material with metal fasteners accounts for over 90% of pallet production. Approximately 508 million wood pallets were manufactured in the United States in 2016, while 341 million were recycled, according to research by Virginia Tech.
The popularity of wood, past and present, and future, is driven by several attractive benefits. These include:
Availability: Wood is widely available, making it a convenient and cost-effective material for constructing pallets. Because lumber can be sourced from many parts of the country, it reduces the need for long-distance transportation.
Performance: Wood is naturally strong and stiff, capable of holding heavy loads, making it ideal for carrying a wide range of goods, from light to heavy.
Customizability: Wooden components can be easily cut and shaped into various sizes and designs. Customization can take place quickly, rather than the several months required to create molding tools for plastic pallets, for example. This customizability allows pallet designers at PalletOne to create unique pallets designed to fit your specific products or shipping requirements.
Repair and Reuse: Wood pallets can be easily repaired when broken. Damaged or missing components can be replaced, significantly extending the pallet’s life.
Sustainability: Wood is a renewable resource that is growing in size in the United States. According to the U.S. Forest Service, annual forest growth volume is almost double the amount removed. The resource’s renewability, ease of repairability, high recycling rate, and robust end-of-life markets for fiber all add up to a compelling sustainability story in favor of wood pallets.
Cost-Effectiveness: Why does wood dominate the market? Ultimately, wood is generally more affordable than other materials like plastic or metal and, as mentioned above, can be easily customized to optimize performance for the lowest cost.
Why Plastic?
In a distant second place, plastic is the second most popular material used to make pallets. Plastic pallets are currently preferred for specific applications due to their consistent weight and size, durability, resistance to moisture, pests, and chemicals, and ease of cleaning and sanitization. Plastic can also usually be recycled to manufacture new pallets at their end of life.
Plastic pallets are also popular with some exporters who want to totally eliminate any risks related to ISPM 15 compliance. The increased use of recycled resin is helping build a positive sustainability case for plastic pallets, although integrating recycled material into the resin mix is not without significant challenges.
Applications where plastic pallets are popular include the U.S. Postal Service, downstream grocery distribution, automotive manufacturing, and automated warehousing systems. Plastic pallets are also seen in applications such as beer and soft drinks distribution. Plastic pallets are usually significantly more expensive than wood pallets. Therefore, they make sense in applications such as in a closed loop where they are repeatedly reused and do not experience high loss rates. High attrition rates can significantly erode plastic pallets’ attractiveness from economic and sustainability perspectives.
Why Wood Composite, Paper, or Metal?
With a combined market share of less than 5%, wood composite, paper, and metal are the other materials popularly used for pallet production. Each one has properties that make it attractive for particular use cases, yet limitations have deterred from broader uptake.
Wood Composite Pallets: Wood composite or presswood pallets are compression molded from wood fiber to form stiff, dimensionally accurate single-face pallets. Thanks to the heat required in manufacturing, they are ISPM 15 exempt. They are popular for export and shipping where a bottom pallet deck is unimportant for stacking or racking. It has a positive sustainability story because fiber is sourced from wood manufacturing and recycling residuals.
Paper Pallets: Paper or corrugated pallets are lightweight, recyclable, and often competitively priced to new expendable wood pallets. They can be custom-designed easily and are ideal for one-way shipping due to being widely accepted for recycling. Additionally, they pose no immediate risk of pests or contamination after manufacturing, making them suitable for international transport without special treatments. Because of their low weight, they are attractive for applications such as air freight. The most well-known case study involving paper pallets was their adoption by IKEA over a decade ago. Strength limitations and susceptibility to moisture have dampened overall interest, although advancements in both areas have been made.
Metal Pallets: Metal pallets are extremely durable, have a long lifespan, and can carry heavy loads, making them ideal for industries like automotive, aerospace, and military, where strength and durability are crucial in handling heavy parts and unevenly distributed loads. They’re also fireproof and suitable for sterile environments due to their easy-to-clean surface. Steel pallets integrated into steel shipping rack systems can promote ease of handling and storage of otherwise awkward heavy parts. Overall, metal pallets are ideally suited for such niche applications, but wider uptake has been limited due to concerns including price, weight, and corrosion.
While pallets constructed from plastic, composite wood, paper, and metal have faithful followings in the niches they serve, the compelling sustainability, economic, and customizability benefits of wood will continue to make it the material of choice in the years ahead. As a supply chain decision maker, you undoubtedly have many questions that are more urgent than those about the materials used to build pallets! As the leading manufacturer of new wood pallets in the United States, PalletOne’s Pallet Concierge program can take the guesswork out of managing pallets for your company and give you more time to chart and execute your supply chain strategy. Contact us today.
