 | There are estimated to be nearly 2 billion pallets in service in the United States each day. [source] |
 | “Pallets are arguably as integral to globalization as containers. For an invisible object, they are everywhere: There are said to be billions circulating through the global supply chain (2 billion in the United States alone). Some 80% of all U.S. commerce is carried on pallets. So widespread is their use that they account for, according to one estimate, more than 46 percent of total U.S. hardwood lumber production.”[source] |
 | “According to an article in a 1931 railway trade magazine, 3 days were required to unload a boxcar containing 13,000 cases of unpalletized canned goods. When the same amount of goods was loaded into the boxcar on pallets or skids, the identical task took only 4 hours.” [source] |
 | There are currently around 450 million new pallets produced in North America each year. [source] |
 | The total number of pallets in use in the US is forecast to increase 1.9% annually through 2019 to 2.6 billion units [source] |
 | Global demand for strapping is projected to increase 4.4 % per year through 2018 to nearly $2.5 billion. [Fredonia Group Study 3233; “World Bulk Packaging” 1/31/2015] Polyester strapping is forecasted at a compounded annual growth rate of 7.2% over a ten year period from 2017 to 2027. [source] |
 | Strapping’s inherent minimization of packaging waste and ability to reduce packaging costs will aid continued growth. In particular, above-average gains are expected for plastic strapping as it continues to make inroads into steel strapping applications. |
 | Plastic strapping will continue to outperform steel strapping primarily because of plastic’s lower price per application and enhanced safety. [Fredonia Group Study 3233; “World Bulk Packaging” 1/31/2015] |
 | There are about a dozen US manufacturers of strapping, and lashing. |
