Comparative performance of new, repaired, and remanufactured 48- by 40-inch GMA-style wood pallets

In 2001, an estimated 433 million new wood pallets were manufactured in the United States, consuming an estimated 6.6 billion board feet (BBF) of hardwood and softwood lumber, cants, and parts (Bejune et al. 2002). Subsequently, another industry has emerged that specializes in the repair and remanufacture of wood pallets. This rise of the wood pallet repair and remanufacture industry is in large part the result of increasing landfill fees, recycling mandates, and a perceived market opportunity. In 1999, pallet recyclers recovered an estimated 299 million wood pallets, or approximately 4.46 BBF of recovered pallet parts for repair (Bejune et al. 2002). Of the pallets received for repair, 66 percent were multiple-use grocery pallets, or so-called Grocery Manufacturers of America “(GMA)-type” 48by 40-inch, three-stringer, non-reversible, partial four-way, flush pallets (Bejune et al. 2002). Standard grades and repair methods for repaired pallets are specified in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) MH1-Part 3 Wood Pallets, but the performance of repaired pallets is undocumented (ASME 2000). A previous study investigating the performance of pallet parts recovered from used wood pallets concluded that average flexural strength and stiffness of used pallet parts varies significantly, but is generally less than parts manufactured from new material when adjusted for moisture content. This lower strength and stiffness were due to the presence of nail holes (Clark et al. 2001). This study also indicated that the quality of