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Pallet C e nt ral • Janu a r y - Fe b r u a r y 2 0 26 39 understand the challenges to adapt to volatility in the lumber market. Every new tariff implementation, housing market bubble, and strained trade relationship impacts the bottom line—unless businesses are proactive in how they manage inventory and mitigate risk. Fortunately, the pallet industry is more familiar with flexibility and adaptation than many other lumber-dependent industries. For years, the industry has been navigating supply disruptions, utilizing every raw material on hand, and finding new ways to improve product offerings. As the global hardwood and softwood markets define the new "normal," pallet manufacturers can stay focused on what they've already been doing. Deepening relationships with suppliers and key business partners, investing in automation and other cutting- edge tools, and adjusting inventory management practices as needed won't just lead to better outcomes for the pallet industry. It will serve as a roadmap for the broader lumber-based economy, allowing the brighter days ahead to actually materialize. Mark Barford has served as the NWPCA Senior Director of Business Partnerships since 2015. He is also the former Execu ve Director of the Na onal Hardwood Lumber Associa on and brings deep exper se in the dynamics, challenges, and market trends of the lumber industry. Mark can be reached at mbarford@palletcentral.com. Background sources: Acadon (2024), Trading Economics (2024), North American Hardwood Lumber Associa on (2024), North Carolina State University (2025), Miller Wood Trade Publica ons (2025), ResourceWise (2025), Na onal Associa on of Home Builders (2024–2025), Newsweek (2025), MarketWatch (2025), Reuters (2025), University of Kentucky (2025), NPR (2025), Seven Days (2025), Global News (2025), BBC News (2025), Fortune (2025), USA Today (2025), Yahoo Finance (2025). DISPENSERS STACKERS REPAIR LINES ROBOTIC SYSTEMS A.I. INSPECTION SORT SYSTEMS WHEN YOU NEED HIGH PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS HAS THE AMS

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