As the association has found out, most companies in the industry have sourced their nails from suppliers in Eastern Europe, such as Poland.
“We were surprised to learn that these suppliers rely almost entirely on steel from Russia – we didn’t know that,” HPE board member Joachim Hasdenteufel told Verkehrrundschau.
90% of the so-called wire steel, from which the nails used for pallets are made, originates from Russia, therefore both the suppliers and the factories need to look for different sources.
According to the association, there are no short-term alternatives to fix the shortage for two reasons. Firstly, the nails cannot be replaced by different ones, as the machines in the factories can handle only this kind of nail.
Secondly, sourcing steel from Asia is definitely an option, but not a short-term one, as it would take 6-8 months to organise the supply. In the meantime, some factories are set to out of nails in the very near future, according to Hasdenteufel.