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Pool-marked · iGPS

iGPS pallets: owned by the pool

iGPS pallets are owned by the pool, not by whoever holds them. If a pallet is iGPS-marked or RFID-tagged, do not sell it. Contact the owner.

Last reviewed November 12, 2026

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Common places to look for a mark: A to E, and F in the centreABCDEF
Common places to look for a mark: A to E, and F in the centre

What an iGPS pallet is

iGPS runs a pool of all-plastic, RFID-tagged pallets. A freight-trade report says iGPS announced FM approval in 2008 for its pooled pallet, which had UL 2335 certification from 2007. That matters at the dock for one reason: the pallets are a managed fleet. Someone is counting them.

Owner
The pool operator, not the user
Material
All plastic, with an RFID tag
Fire listings
UL 2335 in 2007; FM approval announced in 2008
Your status
A holder. Never an owner.
The ruling
RETURN

What to do when you find them

  1. Stop

    Do not move, sell, scrap or give away the stack. Leave the marks as they are.

  2. Record

    Count the pallets. Photograph each stack and a close shot of the mark or tag. Note the date and where they came in from.

  3. Ask who sent them

    Pooled pallets arrive on a supplier's load. The receiving record names the supplier. That tells you whose fleet it is.

  4. Contact the owner

    Tell the pool operator you hold their pallets and where. Let them arrange collection.

Selling iGPS pallets is the same question as selling CHEP pallets, and the answer is the same: no, because they are not yours. Checking pallets for markings shows where to look before you guess.

Why this is not a technicality

Pool operators track their pallets, and trade press has covered recoveries of pallets taken from the pool, including iGPS pallets recovered from a recycler by a sheriff's task force. Holding marked pallets and selling them is the exact thing the pool is watching for. This page describes what trade articles and courts have said. It is not legal advice. Confirm with the owner of the pallets or with counsel before you act on a disputed lot.

Can I sell iGPS pallets?

No. They belong to the pool operator. Contact them.

What if I bought the load they arrived on?

You bought the goods, not the pallets. A pooled pallet is rented to the shipper. The load's invoice does not transfer it.

Will the desk buy them if I remove the tag?

No. We will not help remove or hide a mark, and a pallet that was tagged stays the owner's.

Words you will meet

Closed loop
Pallets that travel between known sites and come back, so they are never lost to a downstream user.
FM 4996
FM Approvals standard that rates a pallet as equal to wood in fire tests.
Commodity classification
Sprinkler design class of stored goods; an unlisted plastic pallet can raise it.
HDPE
High-density polyethylene, resin code 2. The most common resin in plastic pallets; tough and moisture resistant.
Captive pallet
A pallet owned and kept inside one company or loop.
One-way pallet
A cheaper pallet shipped with the load and not expected back.
Creep
Slow bending of plastic under a heavy load held for a long time.
Thermoforming
Heated plastic sheet formed over a mould; lighter pallets.
PP
Polypropylene. More rigid than HDPE and better with heat and harsh chemicals; used where rack stiffness matters.
Recycled-content pallet
A pallet moulded partly or wholly from post-industrial or post-consumer resin.
Lip
Raised edge on the deck, or an optional soft lip, that keeps the load in place.
Anti-slip
Textured deck or rubber grommets that reduce load slip.
Fork pocket
Opening in the pallet where the forks go.
Heat treated (HT)
ISPM 15 treatment for wood: core at 56 C for 30 minutes. Not needed for plastic.
Pooling
Renting pallets from a company that owns, tracks and collects them instead of buying.
Injection moulding
Pallet made by forcing molten resin into a mould at high pressure.

Who asks, and what they need

Pharmaceutical and healthcare shippers
Hygienic pallets that can be sanitised; documents on resin and colour; PP sometimes preferred for sterilisation.
Chemical and drum shippers
48 x 48 and 45 x 45 pallets for drums and bags; chemical resistance.
Plastic recyclers and pallet makers
Buy broken pallets by weight as HDPE or PP feedstock; want clean, sorted, separated by resin and colour.

What the sources say

  • iGPS announced FM approval in 2008 for its all-plastic RFID-tagged pooled pallet, which had UL 2335 certification from 2007. (freightwaves.com)
  • In December 2011 a Los Angeles County Sheriff task force recovered over $250,000 of illegally obtained plastic pallets, including iGPS pallets, from a plastic recycler. (eponline.com)
  • The International Fire Code permits pallets listed and labeled under FM 4996 or UL 2335 to be treated as wood pallets for sprinkler design. (iccsafe.org)
  • A 2010 insurer figure cited by ICC puts fire spread to a pallet above at about 18 minutes for plastic versus nearly 50 for wood. (iccsafe.org)
  • Private employers in the US averaged 575,006 jobs across 12,344 establishments in plastics product manufacturing (NAICS 3261) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Ohio (42,286), Texas (40,945), California (35,933), Pennsylvania (34,094), Indiana (33,122). (data.bls.gov)
  • Plastic pallets are often described as lasting 100 trips or more, and can cost roughly 10 times as much as hardwood pallets. (en.wikipedia.org)
  • NFPA requires wood and plastic pallets to be stored outdoors or in a detached structure unless sprinklers protect them. (en.wikipedia.org)
  • FM 4996 passes a pallet if fire is controlled at 5.9 mm/min (0.15 GPM/ft2) within a 10-minute test of eight 1.2 m stacks. (iccsafe.org)
  • UL 2335 has an idle pallet test and a commodity storage test. (iccsafe.org)
  • Greystone Logistics processed about 60 million pounds of recycled plastic in the year ended May 31, 2024, using damaged plastic pallets from a buy-back program among its feedstock. (resource-recycling.com)
  • Private employers in the US averaged 1,901,976 jobs across 23,345 establishments in warehousing and storage (NAICS 493) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (236,923), Texas (175,579), Pennsylvania (123,481), Florida (105,401), Ohio (98,354). (data.bls.gov)
  • Private employers in the US averaged 73,136 jobs across 1,811 establishments in refrigerated warehousing (NAICS 49312) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (9,969), Texas (6,638), New Jersey (5,388), Georgia (4,453), Pennsylvania (4,102). (data.bls.gov)
  • Private employers in the US averaged 1,775,008 jobs across 42,763 establishments in food manufacturing (NAICS 311) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (166,660), Texas (112,088), Illinois (98,300), Pennsylvania (82,538), Wisconsin (81,993). (data.bls.gov)
  • Private employers in the US averaged 168,222 jobs across 2,809 establishments in dairy product manufacturing (NAICS 3115) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: Wisconsin (28,840), California (18,374), New York (11,603), Ohio (8,963), Texas (7,529). (data.bls.gov)
  • Private employers in the US averaged 173,844 jobs across 2,936 establishments in fruit and vegetable preserving (NAICS 3114) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (27,518), Wisconsin (11,014), Washington (10,988), Ohio (10,327), Texas (9,194). (data.bls.gov)
  • Private employers in the US averaged 316,938 jobs across 16,316 establishments in beverage manufacturing (NAICS 3121) in 2025 (BLS QCEW). States with the most jobs: California (63,604), Texas (24,154), New York (13,802), Pennsylvania (13,207), Florida (12,661). (data.bls.gov)

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