Plastic Pallets Market Growth & Trends

The global plastic pallets market size is expected to reach USD 9.79 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.3% from 2020 to 2027. Increasing demand for robust, long-term, contamination-free, and eco-friendly packaging, which accounts for a low cost per trip in the longer term as compared to expendable packaging, coupled with a steady expansion of the end-use industries, is expected to fuel the growth of the market.

Plastic pallets are typically made from robust materials, including polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and are primarily intended for multiple trips rather than a single trip. Plastic pallets are made from virgin and recycled plastic resins. Virgin resin-based pallets offer superior performances. However, recycled resin-based pallets are less expensive and more sustainable, due to which they are generating considerable traction within the market.

Plastic pallets can be easily cleaned with high-pressure jet spray and they demand minimal maintenance, unlike wooden pallets. Besides, wood pallets are highly susceptible to moisture and pose a risk of sheltering bacteria, pests, or fungi, which can damage stacked food and pharmaceutical goods. Moreover, splinters or protruding nails of wooden pallets have the potential to break or tamper the pharmaceutical packaging, due to which the end-use companies are increasingly opting for plastic pallets, which pose no such risks and weight is much lower than wooden pallets.

Globally, the demand for environment-friendly packaging is rapidly growing due to the rising sustainable awareness among consumers and growing stringent regulations on plastic packaging. Growing favorable government regulations, including the adoption of the Circular Economy Action Plan by the European Union, which aims to promote circular economy processes and foster sustainable consumption, are expected to favor the growth of reusable packaging products, such as plastic pallets, in the coming years.

Plastic pallets are expensive as compared to wooden pallets; thus, their theft or misplacing increases the overall cost of material handling or product transportation. However, the advancement in technologies, such as the incorporation of active RFID tags, Bluetooth, and IoT interface, allows easy and efficient tracking of pallets throughout the supply chain, which, in turn, is expected to attract end-use industries towards them in the coming years.

Plastic Pallets Market Report Highlights

  • Based on material, high-density polypropylene (HDPE) accounted for the largest share of 68.3% in terms of revenue in 2019 owing to its sturdiness, wide availability, and low cost as compared to PP pallets
  • By type, nestable pallets held the largest revenue share of 43.2% in 2019 and are expected to witness significant growth from 2020 to 2027. Nestable pallets can be nested into each other, due to which they occupy lesser space during return freight and prove to be cost-efficient as compared to other pallet types. Besides, the low cost of nestable pallets as compared to other types is responsible for their higher adoption by end-use companies
  • The food and beverages end-use segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 23.3% in 2019. In the food and beverages industry, plastic pallets are utilized by farmers to handle fresh produce and by the bakery, dairy, beverage, meat, and other food processing companies. The steady expansion of the packaged food sector is expected to increase the penetration of plastic pallets within the food and beverage industry
  • Asia Pacific emerged as the leading regional market and accounted for over 32.0% share of the total revenue in 2019. It is also expected to exhibit the highest CAGR from 2020 to 2027. The growing manufacturing sector in developing countries, such as China and India, owing to the low cost of production, coupled with the growing penetration of e-commerce, is primarily contributing to the growth of the regional market
  • The global market is moderately fragmented with the presence of several small and medium-sized companies. Key players are focusing on acquisitions and also incorporating novel tracking devices to efficiently track product movement throughout the supply chain