An Economic Analysis of the U.S. Wooden Pallet and Container Industry
9
2.2 Employment
Total direct employment is shown in Figure 3. Employment data and growth rates are in
Table 2.
Like most manufacturing industries, the wooden pallet and container industry was not
immune to the Great Recession. Job losses began in 2006 and accelerated sharply in
2009. Employment continued falling for several years, albeit at a more moderate rate.
Between 2005 and 2012, NWPCA-related
employment dropped by nearly 40 percent,
from almost 92,000 jobs to just 55,400. By 2013,
however, employment levels began stabilizing.
Growth has accelerated in recent years,
expanding 4.8 percent in 2014, 5.7 percent in
2015, and 7.4 percent in 2016. This strong
performance has helped wooden pallet and
container manufacturing employment rise to
over 67,000 jobs in 2016.
While job gains are a welcome sign of industry health, it is equally important to note labor
productivity trends. Positive labor productivity indicates that firms are able to achieve
increasing levels of output using less labor. NWPCA-related labor productivity increased
at an average rate of 4.0 percent per year between 2009 and 2016, outpacing the
overall economy.
Figure 3. Employment
Units: Jobs
92,417
83,183
87,825
91,896
86,384
83,132
77,761
62,578
58,748
58,193
55,401
56,057
58,804
62,236
67,007
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
100,000
110,000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Employees
Direct employment at NWPCA-
related firms has trended
upwards in recent years.
Employment exceeded 67,000
jobs in 2016.
