What has been your experience obtaining used wood pallets this year?
That is one of the questions that pallet-using businesses were asked in the Modern Materials Handling annual pallet user survey, which was conducted in June.
The question allowed companies to respond about pallet quality, supply, and price. There also was a category that allowed companies to indicate they have not experienced, nor do they anticipate any issues related to obtaining used pallets.
To the statement, ‘Quality is not as good, worse,’ 39% of respondents agreed. That represents a slight increase over 2020 and 2018, when 36% agreed that pallet quality diminished. Twenty-three percent agreed in 2017, so pallet users increasingly say that used pallet quality is declining.
Companies also were given the opportunity to agree or disagree with the statement: ‘Few pallets are available/Used pallets are in short supply.’ The number who agreed with this statement jumped from 20% in 2020 (and 2018) to 47% in 2021. The figure was 22% in 2017.
Respondents also were asked if used pallets were more expensive. After declines in the previous two surveys, 33% of this year’s respondents agreed that used pallet prices were higher. That was up from only 9% in 2020.
To the statement, ‘We have not experienced nor do we anticipate any issues procuring pallets,’ 24% of respondents agreed – down from 40% in 2020.
The survey asked a number of other questions of pallet users. One other gem from the survey: There was a jump in companies using the GMA footprint, the 48×40 pallet. The number of respondents using this pallet size increased from 68% in 2020 to 80% in 2021. The use of four other common pallet sizes declined: 48×48, 42×42, 36×48, and 36×36. Only one other size – the half-pallet, 24×20 – showed an increase, from 11% to 13%.
Modern Materials Handling received 176 responses from readers who use pallets.
Most respondents (51%) work in manufacturing companies across several different verticals, with 18% in whole trade, durables; 10% in retail; 7% in wholesale, non-durables; and 14% in other sectors.
You can find the complete article at the Modern Materials Handling website, www.mmh.com.
