How The Demand For Pallets Has Changed
Wooden pallets were one of the earliest models of material transportation, so it’s no surprise that their demand has drastically changed with time. Today’s pallet demand depends on evolving trends, environmental elements, and industry developments. In this blog, we’ll discuss the factors that play into the continually evolving pallet industry and review how pallet demand has changed.
Also Read: Evaluating the impact of transportation investment
Environmental Trends
Businesses and manufacturers crave circular business models that allow ample opportunity for reusable resources. As a result, they’ve heavily embraced sustainability as a pallet production trend. This emphasis on eco-friendly manufacturing has only strengthened and increased the demand for wooden pallets in the industry. Wooden pallets are durable and long-lasting to extend the longevity of their use.
Pallet recycling services that allow for the selling and buying used pallets also encourage manufacturers to avoid unnecessary waste by recycling rather than purchasing virgin materials. The drive for higher sustainability and lower total waste from manufacturers has dramatically impacted the wooden pallet industry by increasing this demand.
Material Trends
Wooden pallets are the most common type in the industry. This fact makes them universally popular with most manufacturers. However, the growing interest in plastic-based materials has also affected the overall demand for pallets.
Plastic pallets are one of the fastest-growing pallet types on the market. Since manufacturers can recycle them or melt and reform them into other manufacturing supplies, this option is popular among businesses looking to reduce waste. Plastic pallets have also risen in demand and popularity because they can store products without the risk of pests or wood-eating insects ruining their quality.
However, plastic pallets are also susceptible to drastic changes in temperature and weather, making them less effective during transportation. The cost of plastic pallets is also considerably higher compared to the cost of wooden and recycled pallets. Businesses ultimately alternate between calculating projected costs using rental, recycled, or whitewood materials to determine the best material for their pallets. However, these changes in material trends factor significantly into the industry’s overall fluctuating demand for pallet use.
International Shipping Trends
The demand for pallets also depends on international pallet orders overseas. While many merchandise comes from overseas, these orders must be palletized on standard shipping pallets. Instead, manufacturers optimize space in ocean containers by floor-loading products and eliminating space dedicated to pallets. Once these containers are unloaded, pallets are necessary on the unloading dock to palletize merchandise for distribution. These non-palletized shipments increase often during seasonal trends, such as high holiday spending months. As American consumers continue to flock to online shopping, the demand for goods manufactured overseas will only increase over time.
Price Trends
Another factor that has affected how the demand for pallets has changed is the steady increase in pallet prices. One of the most significant reasons the cost of pallets has risen is the increasing demand for lumber.
Changing weather conditions have made lumber logging more complex, increasing pallet prices. Regions that naturally harvest lumber have experienced more significant snowfall and longer winters than previous years.
These weather conditions leave lumber damp rather than frozen, making harvesting more time-consuming and strenuous. This extreme weather also prevents loggers from meeting delivery deadlines and lessens the amount of lumber they can collect at the end of each season.
Industries that create heavy competition for limited lumber resources, such as construction, also increase the overall price of lumber needed to make pallets.
The result of all these conditions is a steep increase in price due to a lack of lumber resources. Cost per pallet continues to rise, which, again, directly affects the demand for pallets. While increasing pallet prices may decrease the need for pallets, the industry’s concentrations toward reusable pallet production have considerably stabilized this supply and demand relationship.
Technology Trends
Rapid advancements in technology have also affected the demand for pallets. New technology has introduced more efficient tools to measure pallet sizes and optimize storage. Advances in technology have also reinvented many aspects of material handling in warehouses. For example, while past warehouse facilities would employ workers to operate forklifts, many now use automated systems. Automation has changed how efficient facilities are, making pallet material handling more convenient and practical.
Technology has also created more consistent and reliable delivery methods, such as GPS systems. These systems reduce the number of pallets lost or delayed in transportation, making deliveries faster and more convenient for businesses.
Product digitization has also opened new lines of communication between companies and warehouses. Warehouses can now unload pallet information to help businesses track and follow the progress of their product deliveries.
These developments have made the pallet industry more effective and efficient, encouraging businesses to invest in larger orders of pallets for their product storage and transportation. Technology may not seem to influence the demand for pallets directly, but it has significantly optimized their use in the industry.
The demand for pallets has undoubtedly changed since its early origins. Fluctuations in environmental, materials, international, price, and technology trends have drastically contributed to the changing demand for pallets over time. These different influence trends change often, making predicting the pallet market demand challenging to manage.
