“The shortage of pallets is adding stress to a supply chain that is already facing significant challenges,” Jane Proctor, vice president of the Produce Marketing Association, recently told Karen Davidson, editor of The Grower newspaper.
Proctor said importing pallets is costly because of tariffs and transportation; the shortage is made worse by hoarding.
She is calling for a concerted effort across the supply chain to ensure pallets are available.
Another complicating factor is wholesalers and distributors stocking up on produce to ensure they can fill orders and those inventories are sitting on pallets.
She said that associations, such as hers, and other key players in the pallet and produce industries, are co-operating across North America to find solutions.
