pallets wooden pallets wood pallets new pallet

Pallet Blog What’s New at Advance Lumber & the Pallet Industry

What Are Pallets Made Of?

A Closer Look at Wood, Plastic, and Other Pallet Material Options

Spoiler alert. You can buy pallets made from a variety of materials, but most North American pallet buyers rely on wood pallets with metal fasteners. This is particularly true in the Western Canadian provinces and U.S. states, blessed with abundant forests and timber supply. Below, we walk you through the comparative advantages of each, and make the compelling case for wood!

What Are Pallets Made Of?

If you are using wood pallets, you are in good company. Well over 90% of pallets in North American supply chains are built from wood. In popularity, plastic follows at a distant second, with other options including corrugated or paper, presswood, metal, and various composite materials. People have even tried to use recycled materials ranging from coconut husks to old carpeting to agricultural waste, with limited success.

By comparison, in parts of the world where timber is significantly more expensive, such as Japan, for example, the proportion of plastic pallets is higher – in the 20% range. However, that is not the case on this continent.

The Importance of Wood Pallets

Wood pallets hold the vast majority of the market with upward of 1 billion new pallets manufactured annually across Canada and the United States, while several hundred million are refurbished and recycled. The value proposition of wood pallets is compelling. Consider the following:

Eco-Friendly and Sustainable

Wood is a renewable material harvested from stable Canadian and U.S. forests. Combined with the ability of wood pallets to sequester carbon, their ease of repairability, impressive recycling rates, and strong end-of-life fiber markets, wood pallets present a powerful sustainability story you can share with your team and your customers.

Wide Availability

Timber is readily accessible, offering a practical and economical choice for pallet construction. With lumber sourced from numerous regions, the reliance on lengthy transportation routes is minimized, ensuring timely and cost-effective supply chains.

Performance You Can Count On

Timber is the perfect natural material. It features long, fibrous cells aligned in parallel grains, which provide excellent tensile and compressive strength. This arrangement allows pallets to bear heavy loads and resist bending or deformation. That structure enhances rigidity, making wood naturally stiff and stable. The interlocking fibers and layered structure also help absorb and distribute impacts, reducing damage during handling and transport.

Ease of Customization

As a pallet buyer, you want to make sure your pallet has the strength and durability you need for your application. You don’t want the headaches that come with a pallet that isn’t up to the challenge, but at the same time, you don’t want to pay for more than you need – an overbuilt pallet.

A savvy wood pallet provider such as Advance Lumber will make sure your pallet specification hits that sweet spot. Wood can be readily milled into the requisite sizes needed for your order. By comparison, consider that building a molding tool for a non-standard plastic pallet might take several months and tens of thousands of dollars. Wooden deck boards and stringers can be quickly cut and shaped to provide the performance you need.

Repair and Reuse

When wood pallets sustain damage, pallets can be simply sent to the pallet recycler for repair. We remove and replace damaged pallet parts to make sure your pallets last a long time, providing greater value and reducing waste.

The Most Cost-Effective Choice

Why is wood so predominant in the market? While the powerful sustainability story of wood pallets is an important consideration, money still talks. Wood remains the market leader primarily due to its clear affordability compared to alternatives like plastic or metal.

What About Plastic Pallets?

When it comes to market share, plastic pallets are way back in second place. To be fair, each of the major pallet materials has its particular advantages, and plastic is no exception. The precise consistency of pallet weight and size when molded from the same resin can be advantageous for certain supply chains. Likewise, resistance to bugs, moisture and ease of sanitation are other features for which some pallet buyers are willing to pay a premium.

Plastic pallets are used in use cases such as automated warehouses, automotive manufacturing, downstream retail distribution and the postal supply chain. Because plastic pallets are typically much more costly than wood pallets, they make sense as an investment mainly if they are used enough time to offset the cost. If a pallet system suffers from significant pallet loss or theft, they can turn out to be a poor investment.

How About Paper, Metal or Wood Composite?

Other notable pallet materials include paper, wood composite, and metal. Each has advantages, yet other limitations that deter greater acceptance in the pallet marketplace.

Wood Composite Pallets

Presswood or wood composite pallets are molded under pressure from wood fiber to stiffdimensionally accurate pallets. These stiff, nestable skids are prized for export and shipping when a bottom pallet face is not needed for stacking or racking throughout the supply chain. This limitation, however, makes it unsuitable for many applications. Because fiber is sourced as a residual of milling and wood recycling, wood composite is interesting from a sustainability perspective.

Corrugated Pallets

Lightweight corrugated or paper pallets are relatively inexpensive – often similarly priced to new limited-duty wood pallets. They can be customized and are attractive for one-way shipping thanks to the wide availability of cardboard recycling. In addition, they are ISPM-15 exempt for international shipment.  Because of their lighter weight, they can be attractive for use cases such as air freight. Sensitivity to moisture and strength limitations, however, have been factors in the limited growth of the corrugated pallet market.

Metal Pallets

Metal pallets are extremely strong and durable, capable of carrying heavy loads and providing a long service life. They are prized in industries such as automotive, the military and aerospace, particularly for supporting heavy and unevenly distributed loads. Stainless steel pallets have long been a platform of choice for suitable for cleanroom environments due to their smooth, moisture impervious surface. Unfortunately, the wider uptake of metal pallets has been dampened due to deterrents such as price, weight and corrosion. While metals such as aluminum can offer a lighter weight solution, they typical come at a higher price.

To be sure, plastic, and to a lesser extent, metal, paper and composite wood, all have successful niche applications, but wood remains the enduring market leader. The compelling cost advantages and powerful sustainability story of wood pallets set them in a class of their own. To find out more, why not contact Advance Lumber today.

pallets wooden pallets wood pallets new pallet