Warehouse & Logistics News magazine published an editor's comment in their 1 March 2012 issue about biomass demand affecting the price of timber pallets. This certainly raised a few eyebrows in our team because it clearly seems plastic pallets are the flavour of the month – but we’d like to restore balance in the pallet buying market.
Certainly plastic pallets have several benefits as this article clearly highlights, but there are dozens of advantages timber pallets have over plastic ones, which were not acknowledged in Wareouse & Logistics News' article.
Although the price of timber can fluctuate from time to time, the price of both a new or used timber pallet is drastically lower than a new or used plastic pallet. Biomass demand may force timber prices to increase but let’s not forget the ever erratic oil prices that affect the price of plastic much more frequently.
Let’s also remember the key differences between how timber and plastic pallets are used. The former offers much more flexibility as they can be used to transport loads both internally and for shipments whereas the latter is largely limited to internal use only. As such, the first question warehouse managers should ask themselves is ‘where will the pallets be going?’
In addition to this decision makers also need to determine the risk of damage caused by fork lift trucks in their warehouse. If risk is low, and the pallets will only be used to transfer loads internally, plastic pallets may be the best solution.
However, if risk of fork lift truck damage is high then plastic pallet buyers beware - because once a plastic pallet has been perforated it has to be withdrawn from use immediately, which is why you will hardly ever see broken plastic pallets used in warehouses.
Timber pallets, on the other hand, can still have loads applied to them even if a board or a block is missing (although we personally don’t recommend it). It is repaired at a comparably low cost and re-introduced to the market as a quality used pallet.
In our experience, many companies who have previously used plastic pallets switch back to timber pallets because they are far more reliable in the long term, more flexible in how they can be used, and therefore more cost effective.
Considering these factors, and the average price of a used plastic pallet coming in at around £15, going plastic can be economic suicide for many warehouse managers because the price is simply unsustainable.
We’re not interested in running down the benefits of plastic pallets. Far from it. Our objective is to achieve a level playing field when it comes to helping buyers make an informed decision about which option best suits their needs and their finances.
