For all the underappreciated parts of the supply chain, no item could be more accurately called its Rodney Dangerfield than the ubiquitous wooden pallet.
Often tossed aside, left outside or simply burned, the pallet serves only one purpose. Yet without it, global commerce might come to a screeching halt.
Talk about getting no respect.
The history of the pallet goes back almost 100 years or perhaps even more as some online searches indicate it may date to the 1880s. Regardless of when the pallet...