Conventional lumber remains the dominant pallet material in many supply chains, while plastic has established a substantial role in reusable and specialized applications. Neither material, however, is the automatic answer for every palletized load.
Presswood, corrugated fiberboard, steel, aluminum and hybrid pallet designs occupy a smaller but important part of the market. They tend to be selected when a particular requirement changes the economics or performance equation, whether that involves export shipping, pallet weight, empty storage space, fire or hygiene concerns, unusual load requirements or the need for a highly specialized handling platform.
This page looks at the principal alternative pallet materials, where they tend to fit, and some of the trade-offs buyers should consider.
Jump to: Why Alternative Materials? | Presswood | Corrugated & Paper | Metal | Hybrid & Specialty | Material Comparison | Choosing a Pallet
1. Why Alternative Pallet Materials?
Alternative pallets generally gain attention because they solve a specific problem rather than because a shipper has decided that conventional pallets are no longer suitable.
Export shipping is one example. Solid wood packaging used in international trade can be subject to ISPM 15 phytosanitary requirements, while pallets made entirely from qualifying processed wood materials, paper, plastic or metal do not present the same raw-wood pest pathway. That has helped create a market for lightweight presswood and corrugated pallets in one-way export applications.
Weight and cube efficiency can also change the calculation. Air freight shippers have an obvious interest in reducing pallet weight, while nestable pallet designs can reduce the amount of trailer and warehouse space occupied by empty pallets.
Other applications place a premium on characteristics such as long service life, dimensional consistency, cleanability, resistance to particular operating environments or the ability to carry loads that would require a very substantial conventional pallet.
The relevant comparison is therefore not simply wood versus another material. It is whether the pallet provides the required performance at an acceptable cost over the way it will actually be used.
2. Presswood and Molded Wood Pallets
Presswood pallets, often called molded wood pallets, are produced from processed wood material formed under heat and pressure, typically with a binder. Unlike a conventional nailed wood pallet assembled from sawn boards and stringers or blocks, the pallet body can be molded into a repeatable shape.
One of their most recognizable features is nestability. Empty pallets fit inside one another rather than being stacked with the full height of each pallet added to the stack. This can substantially reduce the space required to transport and store empties, an advantage where large numbers of pallets are delivered to a production facility before being shipped away with product.
Their relatively consistent dimensions and formed construction can also be attractive in pallet dispensers and other mechanized handling applications. As with any pallet, suitability for conveyors, racks or automated systems should be established for the particular design and load rather than assumed from the pallet material.
Presswood has also developed a significant role in export shipping. ISPM 15 exempts wood packaging made wholly from processed wood material that has been created using glue, heat or pressure, or a combination of those processes. Buyers should confirm that the particular pallet and its components meet the applicable requirements rather than treating “presswood” itself as a regulatory designation.
RPN resources:
- Presswood Pallets, Blocks and Machinery Buyers Guide
- Molded Wood Pallets: Strength and Functionality in One-Way Shipping
- How Nestable Presswood Pallets Can Reduce Lift Truck Handling
- Buying Export Pallets: Plastic and Presswood Options
3. Corrugated and Paper Pallets
Paper pallets include a variety of designs made from corrugated fiberboard, paperboard, honeycomb structures and other paper-based components. “Paper pallet” and “corrugated pallet” are often used interchangeably in casual discussion, although not every paper pallet relies on the same construction.
Low weight is one of their principal attractions. That can be particularly valuable in air freight and other applications where transportation charges are sensitive to shipment weight. Paper pallets also avoid the phytosanitary requirements that apply to covered raw wood packaging, making them an option for one-way international shipments.
They can be designed around the product rather than restricted to a traditional pallet configuration, which has encouraged their use in some retail-ready and integrated packaging applications. Some designs can also be supplied knocked down or in other space-efficient forms.
The limitations are application dependent. Exposure to moisture, concentrated loading, rack storage and repeated handling can be more demanding for fiber-based structures than for some other pallet materials. Advances in coatings, structural design and engineered paper components have expanded the range of applications, but a paper pallet intended for a controlled one-way shipment should not automatically be assumed suitable for an open-loop distribution environment.
Paper pallets have been around much longer than is sometimes assumed. Interest in lightweight disposable shipping platforms dates at least to the 1940s, when designers were already looking for ways to avoid the weight and return logistics associated with conventional pallets.
RPN resources:
- The History of Paper Pallets Could Have Been Different
- Corrugated Pallet Benefits for Export
- Vilsund Blue Corrugated Pallet System
- KraftPal and Orora Partner on Corrugated Pallets
- KraftPal Launches Corrugated Pallets in the U.S.
- IKEA’s Move Away From Conventional Wood Pallets
4. Metal Pallets
Steel and aluminum pallets sit at a very different point on the pallet spectrum. Their higher initial cost usually rules them out for ordinary one-way shipping, but the economics can change where pallets remain in a controlled system for a long time or where the application demands characteristics that justify a more expensive platform.
Steel pallets can provide high load capacity, dimensional consistency and resistance to impacts that might seriously damage lighter pallet designs. They are used in applications such as automotive and industrial manufacturing, metal processing and other demanding closed-loop environments. Steel is also noncombustible, which can be an important consideration in facilities where combustible pallet storage presents a fire protection concern.
Aluminum pallets can offer many of the dimensional and hygiene advantages associated with metal while reducing weight and providing good corrosion resistance. Applications can include pharmaceutical, food, clean manufacturing and other environments where cleanability or contamination control is important.
Metal is not automatically the strongest choice for every application simply because the material itself is strong. Pallet geometry, joints, welds, deck configuration and support conditions still determine performance, and damaged metal pallets may require specialized repair rather than the relatively straightforward component replacement possible with conventional wood pallets.
The economic case is usually strongest when the pallet can be controlled and reused enough times to spread its acquisition cost over a long service life.
RPN resources:
- Reusable Steel Pallets and Shipping Racks
- Metal Pallet Buyers Guide and Supplier List
- Pallet Materials: Comparing the Major Options
5. Hybrid and Specialty Pallets
Not every pallet fits comfortably into a single material category. Hybrid designs may combine materials to put particular properties where they are most useful, such as a reinforced structural element beneath a lighter deck or durable components at points subject to repeated impact.
The range is broad. A pallet might combine wood and plastic components, metal reinforcement with another pallet material, engineered wood elements with conventional lumber, or a specialized deck with a different base structure.
These designs are usually more interesting for the problem they solve than for the fact that they are hybrids. Reinforcement might be introduced to control rack deflection, for example, while another design might focus on reducing weight or extending the life of components that routinely suffer damage.
Specialty pallets can also be designed around unusual products, production equipment or automated handling interfaces. In those circumstances, compatibility with the complete handling system matters more than whether the pallet conforms to a familiar material category.
Where a hybrid pallet contains raw wood components and will travel internationally, its ISPM 15 status needs to be considered separately. The processed-wood exemption does not automatically extend to regulated raw wood incorporated into the same packaging.
6. Comparing Alternative Pallet Materials
These are broad characteristics rather than specifications. Performance can vary substantially within each material category according to pallet design, load, support condition and operating environment.
| Material | Best Fit | Operating Profile | Key Considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presswood / Molded Wood | Export, one-way shipping and dimensional consistency | Often nestable; one-way to moderate reuse depending on design and system | Generally outside ISPM 15 when made wholly from qualifying processed wood material. Confirm load capacity and handling-system compatibility. |
| Corrugated / Paper | Low-weight export, one-way shipping; integrated packaging | Can offer excellent empty-space efficiency; generally one-way or limited reuse | Not subject to ISPM 15 raw-wood requirements. Moisture exposure and support conditions can be important. |
| Steel | Heavy-duty closed loops, demanding industrial applications and situations where fire performance matters | High reuse potential in controlled systems; empty-space efficiency varies by design | Higher acquisition cost and weight, with more specialized repair requirements. |
| Aluminum | Hygiene-sensitive applications, corrosion resistance and applications requiring a lighter metal pallet | High reuse potential in controlled systems; empty-space efficiency varies by design | Higher acquisition cost and application-specific strength requirements. |
| Hybrid / Specialty | Applications requiring a particular structural characteristic or equipment interface | Reuse and space efficiency depend entirely on the design | ISPM 15 status depends on the materials used. Evaluate the specific pallet rather than the material category. |
Conventional wood and plastic pallets remain useful benchmarks when considering these alternatives. See Wood Pallets and Plastic Pallets for more detail on those material systems.
7. Choosing an Alternative Pallet
The starting point should be the operating requirement rather than the pallet material. A buyer considering an alternative pallet should know how the pallet will be supported, how much weight it will carry, whether the load is uniformly distributed, which handling equipment will engage it and whether it will encounter racks, conveyors or automated systems.
Other questions quickly become important:
- Is pallet weight a meaningful transportation cost?
- Will the pallet cross international borders?
- Does it need to nest or otherwise minimize empty storage space?
- Will it be exposed to moisture, washdown, chemicals or extreme temperatures?
- Is it intended for one shipment, occasional reuse or a controlled reusable loop?
- How will damaged pallets be identified, repaired or replaced?
- Does the receiver accept the pallet format?
- What happens to the pallet after unloading?
That final question can materially affect the economics. A highly durable pallet has limited value if it disappears after its first trip, while an inexpensive one-way pallet may be entirely appropriate where recovery would cost more than the pallet itself.
For applications involving racking, automation or unusually demanding loads, material selection should follow the required performance rather than substitute for it. See Pallet Standards & Specifications and Pallet Handling, Stacking & Logistics for related considerations.
