In the U.S., an estimated 450 million new pallets are produced annually and
1.9 billion pallets are in use at any moment in the U.S., most of
them wooden pallets. While material preferences vary based on
performance requirements and costs, solid wood pallets account
for an estimated 90–95% of all pallets in use in the U.S. (Patricio and
Maravall, 2007; Buehlmann et al., 2009; Bush et al., 1996; Kabir et
al., 2003).