Following the lead of such major retail powerhouses as Wal-Mart and Costco, an increasing number of companies are opting for block pallets over the more traditional stringer pallets.
Both types of pallets are made of wood, but stringer pallets have three “stringer boards” that form its base while block pallets typically are composed of nine blocks that form its base.
TechNavio’s new report, “Pallet Market in the US”, contends that block pallets are becoming more popular in part because of their use by the nation’s leading retailers.
“Large retailers are shifting to block pallets over stringer pallets,” the report stated. “Consequently, manufacturers are expected to focus on manufacturing block pallets. Block pallets are expected to account for a large portion of the market by 2018. Costco and Wal-Marat, two leading retailers in the US, recently announced their preference for block pallets. This trend is aiding to growth of large pallet poolers such as CHEP and PECO, which only deal in block pallets, and puts small, family-owned or independent producers who only manufacture stringer pallets at a disadvantage.”
The state of the economy plays a key role in determining the size and growth of the pallet market, according to the report. Because the economy is slowly but surely recovering from the Great Recession, the demand for pallets is expected to be high in both the short- and the long-term future.