The war puts a strain on the pallet market

The war puts a strain on the pallet market

The war in Ukraine and EU sanctions will have a major impact on the European pallet market. The European Pallet Association e. V., as the umbrella organization of manufacturers and repairers of so-called EPAL load carriers, supports the EU's sanctions in the hope that they will help to quickly end the war, violence and the displacement of people, as stated in a current broadcast. 

However, due to the war in Ukraine, the production of EPAL Euro pallets has been interrupted in many companies there. Likewise, almost no packaging and pallet wood is currently exported to Europe from Ukraine. Due to the sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the wood imported from there to Europe in recent years will also be missing in all wood processing areas. Truck drivers from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will also be missing, meaning that the transport of materials and pallets may also be delayed.

Robert Holliger, President of EPAL: "War and sanctions will also put a strain on the production of EPAL Euro pallets in the EU countries. In this situation, as is always the case with the shortage of wood or the increase in wood prices, the multi-year use of exchange pallets such as EPAL Euro pallets helps to avoid or reduce pallet bottlenecks. We therefore expect a significantly growing demand for new EPAL Euro pallets." It is already foreseeable that bottlenecks and delivery delays may occur in the supply of users with new EPAL Euro pallets in the coming months. At the same time, this will also significantly increase the demand for used and repaired EPAL Euro pallets of all quality classes.

Dirk Hoferer, Vice President of EPAL: "We recommend that all users of EPAL Europallets work with their suppliers to plan their pallet requirements for the entire year 2022 and order EPAL Europallets early. In this difficult situation, which is expected to exceed the bottlenecks of 2021, the long-standing and trusting delivery relationships between the users and suppliers of EPAL Europallets will prove their worth." Even when there was a shortage of wood in 2021, it was possible to ensure that there were no significant disruptions to pallet and transport logistics.

The expected bottlenecks in the supply of wood and the rising prices for energy, transport and raw materials will also have an impact on the prices for pallet wood and EPAL Euro pallets. The same applies here: EPAL wooden Euro pallets can be used for many years and repaired inexpensively. Higher purchase prices are offset by reuse, exchange, resale and the possibility of repair. The EPAL licensees and the service providers of the open EPAL Euro pallet exchange pool support users in this.