Wood Container and Pallet Manufacturers

The 2,400 wood container and pallet manufacturers in the US produce pallets, shipping crates and cases, barrels, wooden boxes, casks, and parts for wood pallets and containers. Wood pallets used for shipping is the largest product category. Companies produce new wood pallets from raw lumber or recycled wood. Companies also repair and resell used wood pallets. Wood waste from the production process, along with used pallets that cannot be repaired, are typically ground up and sold as mulch, animal bedding, or wood shavings.

Raw Material Cost and Availability

Wood container and pallet manufacturers purchase industrial lumber from sawmills for production of new products.

Pallet Pooling or Rental

To reduce costs and focus on their core business, some customers are opting to rent, rather than own, pallets.

Aug 6, 2026 - Automation Helps Ease Labor Shortage

• Persistent labor shortages are accelerating automation investments at pallet plants, where robotic systems are reducing staffing needs, improving safety, and increasing productivity, according to Pallet Enterprise. Early adopters have cut operator requirements, lowered production hours, reduced material waste, and strengthened quality control, although implementation often requires equipment tuning, employee training, and realistic payback expectations. Flexible automated nailers and dismantling systems also help producers handle custom pallets, reduce worker strain, and collect data on lumber yields and rejected boards. These developments could help pallet manufacturers offset hiring challenges, improve consistency, and meet stricter quality demands from automated warehouses. However, companies must weigh capital costs, maintenance, programming needs, and the operational risks of adopting technologies before they are fully proven.
• Lower lumber prices, in part brought on by the sluggish US housing market, could help reduce costs for wood container and pallet manufacturers. In early August, lumber prices dropped to $586 per thousand board feet - a one-month low, according to Trading Economics. Weak single-family construction activity has reduced demand for lumber and driven prices lower. While Canadian softwood imports were exempted from the Trump administration's latest round of 50% tariffs on select Canadian goods, existing duties on Canadian lumber remain at nearly 35%, which have pressured Canadian producers' margins and led to some mill closures.
• US manufacturing activity expanded in July 2026 for the seventh consecutive month, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The ISM’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) in July rose to 55.6% from a reading of 53.3% in June. A reading above 50% indicates manufacturing expansion. The New Orders Index increased in June by 0.7 percentage points to 56.7%. The June Production Index rose 6.3 percentage points to 58.5%. Of the 18 manufacturing industries tracked by the ISM, 15 reported growth in July: printing & related support activities; apparel, leather, and allied products; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; primary metals; nonmetallic mineral products; transportation equipment; miscellaneous manufacturing; textile mills; machinery; computer and electronic products; food, beverage & tobacco products; wood products; plastics & rubber products; furniture and related products; and fabricated metal products. Chemical products was the only manufacturing subsegment that reported a contraction in July. Manufacturing activity is a key demand driver for wood containers and pallets.
• According to Pallet Enterprise, pallet companies are increasingly treating fleet maintenance as a core operational strategy rather than a repair function, focusing on preventive maintenance, compliance, equipment uptime, and data-driven decision-making to reduce costs and avoid service disruptions. These issues directly affect the pallet industry because truck and trailer downtime can lead to lost revenue, missed deliveries, reduced customer satisfaction, and lower asset utilization. Fleet experts also noted that reactive repairs remain common due to labor shortages, aging equipment, communication gaps, and competing operational priorities. Companies that improve maintenance processes, vendor relationships, training, and asset tracking are better positioned to control costs, maintain compliance, and remain competitive.

Industry size & Structure

The average wood container and pallet manufacturer operates a single location, employs 26 workers, and generates about $7 million in annual revenue.

• The wood container and pallet manufacturing industry in the US consists of about 2,400 companies with annual revenue of $17 billion and 62,000 employees.
• The industry is highly fragmented: the largest 50 companies account for only 41% of industry revenue. Due to shipping costs, companies typically serve customers within 150 miles of their production facility.
• Between one and two billion wood pallets are used annually in the US for shipping goods. The majority of these pallets are used pallets.
• Firms typically manufacture new pallets and also repair and recycle used pallets. Some firms also rent pallets to customers.
• The states with the largest number of wood container and pallet manufacturing facilities are California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas and Illinois.
• The largest new wood pallet manufacturer in the US is PalletOne, Inc., headquartered in Bartow, FL.