MATERIAL PRICES
Pallet Price Today: Price, Trends and Forecast 2026 | Tacto
09.11.2026
Current pallet price: EUR-1 new pallet DACH around 12.19 EUR per unit, derived from the HPE index for solid wood for pallets (October 2026: 110.15 points, published on 21 October; the November value is due around 19 November). Trend analysis of the stagnating index, further easing roundwood prices, the lower gas price in drying and heat treatment, low water on the Rhine and the EUDR from 30 December. Scenarios and procurement recommendations for European industrial buyers.
METHODOLOGY
For pallet prices we use the HPE wood price index for solid wood for wooden pallets as the industrial lead indicator. The index is based on typical pallet timber grades such as boards, squared timber and pallet cuts, and tracks the purchase price development of the domestic and imported grades used in the industry. Important: HPE states explicitly that additional cost factors such as quality grading and other components of the final price are not included in the index. For the actual pallet price, design, standardisation, drying, repairability, logistics and delivery mode therefore also count. As a complementary European trend anchor we use the FEFPEB European Pallet Timber Price Index. FEFPEB itself points out that this index does not show absolute prices per m³, but the trend of national pallet timber indices from Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
AT A GLANCE
- The HPE index for solid wood for pallets remains at 110.15 points (October, HPE, 21 October). Our EUR-1 indicator stands at 12.19 EUR per unit. The November value is due around 19 November.
- The roundwood base keeps easing: on 4 November WBV Fürstenfeldbruck quoted 112 to 115 EUR/m³ net for fresh spruce BC 2b+ until the end of December; sawmills are taking in less wood due to weak construction. A surcharge citing wood is not justified.
- Energy is providing relief: TTF fell from 103.94 to 85.59 EUR/MWh between 30 October and 6 November. Drying and heat treatment under ISPM 15 are becoming cheaper again.
- On the Rhine the Kaub gauge stood at 5 to 11 cm on the morning of 8 November (WSV). For pallets with long delivery routes, freight surcharges remain an issue.
Contents
What is driving the price right now?
The roundwood base keeps falling, and sawmills are holding back. On 4 November WBV Fürstenfeldbruck quoted 112 to 115 EUR/m³ net for fresh spruce BC 2b+ until the end of December and expects prices to ease slightly further in the fourth quarter. Due to weak construction, sawmills are taking in less wood so as not to fill their sawn-timber stocks further (WBV Fürstenfeldbruck, 4 November). In October other Bavarian WBV had quoted 115 to 123 EUR/m³ for the fourth quarter.
The index remains on its plateau. The HPE index for solid wood for pallets stood at 110.15 points in October, unchanged on the month; since June it has moved between 109.88 and 110.29 points (HPE, 21 October). Our EUR-1 indicator stands at 12.19 EUR per unit. According to EUWID, pallet prices had barely changed since early September, and the expected autumn upturn had largely failed to materialise (EUWID, 15 October). Because roundwood prices reach sawn timber with a delay, the November index around 19 November is the next checkpoint.
On costs the picture has turned. TTF fell from 103.94 to 85.59 EUR/MWh between 30 October and 6 November after Iran signalled readiness for peace talks. Gas drives the costs of kiln drying and heat treatment under ISPM 15; these costs are now falling again but remain well above the previous year. On the Rhine the Kaub gauge had daily means between 15 and 22 cm from 2 to 7 November and stood at 5 to 11 cm on the morning of 8 November (WSV). From 30 December the EUDR also applies to large and medium-sized companies; pallets placed on the market as a product in their own right are covered, pallets used purely as packaging for other goods are not.
What we are watching: the HPE index for November, year-end demand, the gas price and how pallet suppliers pass on the effort of EUDR due diligence.
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What does this mean for procurement in Europe?
Ask for stable prices for the first quarter of 2027. The HPE index has moved less than half a point since June, fourth-quarter roundwood prices are below the summer and demand is balanced. A pallet supplier justifying an increase with wood has no basis for it. Agree a review based on the HPE index once the November and December values are available.
Separate wood from energy and logistics. Wood is stagnating, and energy has fallen again with the gas price in early November. Ask for surcharges for drying, heat treatment and freight to be shown separately and with reference to a published index, rather than accepting a flat increase on the unit price. If you accepted an energy surcharge in October, now ask for the reduction.
Use the calm demand for year-end business. The autumn upturn did not materialise and manufacturers have capacity. Agree call-off volumes for December now at current terms, so that short-notice year-end demand does not turn into expensive rush orders.
Clarify the EUDR before 30 December. If you buy pallets as a product, you will need due diligence statements from your suppliers from that date. Ask which evidence your supplier will provide and from when, and agree that any EUDR surcharge appears as a separate line with a traceable calculation.
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Pallet Price Forecast: Our Procurement Intelligence Team's Assessment
Base Scenario
Within this range over the next four to six weeks. (1) The HPE pallet index has been between 109.88 and 110.29 points since June, (2) Q4 roundwood prices of 112 to 123 EUR/m³ are below summer and still easing slightly, (3) supply and demand were most recently balanced according to EUWID, (4) the gas price has fallen, while Rhine logistics remain expensive at low water.
Risk Scenario
Within this range if several triggers coincide over the next three months. (1) The gas price rises above 100 EUR/MWh again after a failure of the Gulf talks and feeds into drying and heat treatment, (2) the EUDR transition on 30 December briefly tightens volumes with complete documentation, (3) year-end demand meets scarce used pallets and shifts demand to new pallets. Probability around 20 percent over the next three months.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Because the HPE specifically measures the purchase prices of the grades used in the pallet and wooden packaging industry. For a pallet price page, that is much closer to industrial procurement reality than a general wood or construction timber price.
Most sensitive are standard wooden pallets with a high timber share, export pallets, special formats and CP pallets in regulated applications such as chemical logistics. That is where the timber base, quality requirements and availability often act at the same time.
When the supplier bases it on the current timber base, the relevant pallet type and specific additional requirements. A surcharge is more plausible for standard wooden pallets, special formats or quality-assured applications than as a blanket surcharge without structure.
Because the HPE index only reflects the timber base. The association itself points out that additional cost factors such as quality grading lie outside the index. For your real pallet price, design, standardisation, logistics and, where relevant, pool requirements also count.
