Why the price of wooden shipping pallets has soared

Another source of stress on the supply chain

Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets.

The humble wooden shipping pallet is probably not something that most people think about too much. But it’s a huge deal. At Virginia Tech, there’s a whole center that focuses on pallets and packaging. And like many other things right now, the price has surged, and now everyone is aware of them. So what caused the price to soar and when will things normalize? On this episode we speak with Marshall White, a Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech, and the country’s leading expert on the wooden pallets. We talked about the history of the industry, its market structure, and where things are heading.