Newsletters Contact Us

Drilling Deep PodcastEnergy IndustryFuel NewsLogistics/Supply ChainsMediaModern ShipperPodcast

Drilling Deep: Pallets are latest thing to get squeezed in supply chain

Wood is a problem and plastic is expensive; one more pressure point to worry about

John Kingston
·
Source: Wikipedia

There is almost nothing that is not being impacted by rising commodity prices and tight availability in the supply chain.

Add the humble pallet to the list. On this week’s Drilling Deep podcast, host John Kingston speaks with an expert on pallet markets, Matt Zielenski of the Freedonia Group, on how the price of lumber is affecting pallets and where there are other signs of squeezes in the pallet supply chain.

Also on this week’s Drilling Deep: a price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil we haven’t seen in a long time.

More articles by John Kingston

Drilling Deep: striving for fuel efficiency as diesel price rises

Drilling Deep: In hiring drivers, speed is of the essence

Drilling Deep: the case for lease purchase deals even as lawsuits grow

Upcoming FreightWaves Events
AI

Supply Chain AI Symposium

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

July 15, 2026
The Old Post • Chicago, IL
Register Now
FreightTech

F3: Future of Freight Festival

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

October 27, 2026 – October 28, 2026
The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN
Register Now
AI Supply Chain AI Symposium Jul 15 • The Old Post • Chicago, IL

Past the hype. Join operators, founders, and enterprise leaders figuring out how to deploy AI in supply chain.

The Old Post • Chicago, IL Register Now
FreightTech F3: Future of Freight Festival Oct 27 – Oct 28 • The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN

Industry-defining keynotes, rapid-fire technology demos, and industry leaders networking in experiences across Chattanooga - plus the inaugural F3 Awards Dinner featuring the FreightTech and Shipper of Choice reveals.

The Signal at Chattanooga Choo Choo • Chattanooga, TN Register Now

One Comment

  1. Bill Stankiewicz

    Pallets continue to be in short supply within the USA markets. I have seen successful usage of recycled cardboard pallets that are structurally sound for up to 3500 pounds used as a substitute.

    Many thanks,

    BILL STANKIEWICZ
    SAVANNAH SUPPLY CHAIN GUY
    1-404-750-3200

Comments are closed.

John Kingston

John has an almost 40-year career covering commodities, most of the time at S&P Global Platts. He created the Dated Brent benchmark, now the world’s most important crude oil marker. He was Director of Oil, Director of News, the editor in chief of Platts Oilgram News and the “talking head” for Platts on numerous media outlets, including CNBC, Fox Business and Canada’s BNN. He covered metals before joining Platts and then spent a year running Platts’ metals business as well. He was awarded the International Association of Energy Economics Award for Excellence in Written Journalism in 2015. In 2010, he won two Corporate Achievement Awards from McGraw-Hill, an extremely rare accomplishment, one for steering coverage of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and the other for the launch of a public affairs television show, Platts Energy Week.