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November-December 2018

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INDUSTRY THOUGHT LEADERS SHARE INSIGHTS & PREDICTIONS FOR 12 PalletCentral • November-December 2018 palletcentral.com hat lies ahead for the industry for 2019, or in 3-5 years? Is it labor, supply or other? We posed some of these questions to our members and received an extremely overwhelming response for input. Several comments on the Amazon Effect were also compiled and moved to page 38. Therefore, in addition to publishing only what space allows (some excerpted), we're putting the full content at palletcentral.com/predictions. David Kear VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS PLM Companies The overall economy may slow in 2019 which could impact the wood pallet industry. I look for 2019 to be flat or slightly down from 2018. I believe growth will resume in 2020 and continue over the next 3 to 5 years but at a slowed pace. Lumber supply will free up a little in 2019 due to continued industry growth in the Southern region with Southern yellow pine. The tight labor market will continue to tighten especially for trucking and other skilled or technical positions. The labor market for leadership roles will continue to be very competitive. Developing a solid company culture that gives associates purpose, and a sense of being a part of something great, will be essential to attracting and retaining the best talent. Dorothy Hostetler GENERAL MANAGER PalletOne of Indiana The south is adding additional pine capacity. Higher trucking costs and truck shortages could provide a trickle-down impact to increasing value of hardwood industrial lumber and may see some additional smaller investments in the hardwood industrial market. Labor will continue to be tight and costs will increase—especially manual labor. Employers will combat with increased automation as labor costs increase. Productivity (including labor) will increasingly be measured by IoT and used as a tool for performance / cost measurement. Tax changes combined with the labor increases will be additional incentive to invest in automation. In 3-5 years, industry will keep growing with the economy. Customers will place even more focus on pallet features to provide a more economic match to their supply chain needs. Trucking shortage and resulting increased costs have potential to change value of smaller hardwood wood baskets located away from the larger pine market baskets. Have been in the pallet business since 1979 and the combined labor and lumber shortages we've experienced this past year are unprecedented. Pallet people are resilient, and we will increasingly use technology to provide solutions to current challenges. W INDUSTRY THOUGHT LEADERS SHARE INSIGHTS & PREDICTIONS FOR iStockphoto.com/Weedezign

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