The global pallets market size was valued at $57.4 billion in 2010, and is projected to reach $130.5 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.1% from 2023 to 2032. Pallets are a tertiary form of packaging that can be used for stacking, storing, protecting, or transporting of goods in supply chains. It is utilized as a base for unitization of goods for logistics and warehousing. Moreover, pallets can be manufactured using materials such as wood, plastic, metal, and corrugated paper, which can be handled using material handling equipment such as forklifts, pallet jacks, or conveyors. Pallets find applications in nearly all supply chains including industries such as chemicals, food & beverage, retail, and others.

Market Dynamics

The unprecedented growth in e-commerce industry is expected to drive the demand for pallets on a significant scale. The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the inclination of population towards e-commerce platforms, especially in countries such as India and others, where e-commerce had lesser prevalence. The rise in e-commerce has challenged supply chains to develop transportation and logistics to control flow and cost of outgoing and incoming goods. Online orders are generally in smaller quantities and more frequent, thus requiring more assets for goods management. This creates a demand for pallets for e-commerce-based logistics, which in turn drives the pallets market growth.

Moreover, the rise in focus toward sustainable packaging and pallets is also expected to drive the growth of the pallets market . The majority of the pallets in use today are produced with wood and are one of the largest contributors to municipal solid waste (MSW). In addition, the waste wooden pallets are rich in energy, which is generally wasted during MSW disposal. Thus, companies are now adopting recycling techniques to reduce the wastage of wood for pallet manufacturing. For instance, companies such as Brambles, Ltd., based in Australia, and CABKA Group GmbH based in Germany, are striving toward production of fully recyclable or 100% reusable wooden and plastic pallets.

However, the fluctuations in prices of wood, especially in Europe and North America, limit the growth of the pallets market. Europe and North America are the largest consumers of wooden pallets collectively, hence, the price changes in lumber affect the consumer patterns in the pallets industry. In addition, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the international trade and manufacturing supply chains. This affected the demand for pallets.

The demand for pallets decreased in 2020, owing to low demand from different industries due to lockdowns imposed by the government of many countries. The COVID-19 pandemic had shut down the production of various industries, mainly owing to prolonged lockdowns in major global countries. This hampered the growth of the pallets market significantly during the pandemic. The major demand for pallets was previously noticed from giant manufacturing countries including the U.S., Germany, Italy, the UK, and China, which was severely affected by the spread of coronavirus, thereby halting demand for pallets. Moreover, the market has recovered due to the launch of COVID-19 vaccine and the government has relaxed the lockdown norms.

On the contrary, the adoption of new technologies in supply chains such as use of internet of things (IoT), automation, collaborative robots (cobots), and others, can promote pallet manufacturers to produce pallets with RFID tags, GPS sensors, and others, which can create new opportunities for pallets in the near future.

Segmental Overview

The global pallets market is segmented on the basis of material, type, application, end-user industry, and region. By material, it is classified into wood, plastic via injection molding, plastic via other methods, corrugated paper, and metal. By type, it is categorized into rackable, nestable, stackable, and display pallets. By application, it is categorized into rental and non-rental. By end-user industry, it is categorized into food & beverage, chemical, retail, pharmaceutical, and others.

Region wise, the market is analyzed across North America (the U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao, and rest of Asia-Pacific), and LAMEA (Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa).