Reinforcement of the damage-prone areas of wood pallet stringers with metal connector plates (MCP's) may increase useful pallet life or permit use of less desirable wood species. This will improve the utilization of our timber resources and landfill space. Whole pallets and individual stringers, reinforced at the inner notches, were tested in static bending. Stringer end segments, reinforced on the sides, were tested for resistance to fork impact. Reinforced stringers had greater strength, and in some cases, greater stiffness, than unreinforced stringers. Reinforced end feet withstood a greater number of tine impacts to failure than did reinforced unreinforced end feet. Wood species had a greater influence on MCP reinforcement performance than did stringer width for all components. In general, tests of whole pallets, after accelerated handling, supported the results from component tests. This suggests that component testing may be a practical means of assessing the effect of reinforcement on pallet performance.