Sharp rise in pallet prices

The structural scarcity of raw materials is driving a sharp increase in pallet prices, bringing them close to the record levels reached in 2022. This trend is unfolding despite a phase of weak industrial demand, during which manufacturers are largely unable to pass cost increases down the supply chain. One of the main drivers of the current price surge lies upstream, in the log market. At the beginning of the year, forest owners demanded significant price increases for sawlogs, which Austrian and German sawmills largely accepted in order to secure raw material supplies. As a result, all downstream segments ...