CHEP and PECO pallet pooling vs buying white-wood pallets

Pooled pallets are rented, not bought. CHEP (blue) and PECO (red) own every pallet in their pools: you pay contract fees to use them, ship them to your customers, and the pool company collects them and repairs them for the next user. White-wood pallets are the plain, unpainted pallets you buy outright and own. Pooling tends to fit shippers with steady, full-pallet loads into retail and grocery networks. Buying tends to fit everyone else.

How pallet pooling works

CHEP describes its process this way:

1. You order pallets through its online portal, myCHEP.
2. CHEP delivers them, or you pick them up at a CHEP service center.
3. You load the pallets and ship your product to your customers.
4. You report the shipment to CHEP through the portal.
5. CHEP picks up the empties and returns them to a service center, where they are inspected and repaired if needed.

PECO describes the same loop: it delivers ready-to-ship pallets, you load and ship, and it retrieves, inspects, repairs and recirculates them. CHEP's program starts with a contract: it sets up portal access once it receives the signed agreement.

The main U.S. pools

• CHEP (blue). Its standard U.S. pallet is a 48x40 four-way block pallet made primarily of kiln-dried Southern Yellow Pine. CHEP says it was designed with the Pallet Design System to carry 2,800 lb of uniformly distributed load in normal operating conditions. CHEP is part of Brambles.
• PECO (red). Wood block pallets, with a network covering the U.S., Canada and Mexico. PECO says its pallets are not used to handle chemical or hazardous materials. It quotes typical delivery within 72 hours and up to 5 business days for heat-treated pallets.
• iGPS. A Florida-based pool that rents 48x40 plastic pallets with embedded RFID tags, as profiled by Modern Materials Handling.

A pallet exchange is a different arrangement. In an exchange program, trading partners swap pallets one for one and ownership moves with the load. In a pool, ownership never moves.

Who owns pooled pallets

The pool company does, always. CHEP states that its pallets are blue, clearly marked as CHEP property, and that it "never sells or otherwise relinquishes ownership of them." Brambles has said CHEP keeps ownership even when pallets are in the hands of manufacturers, retailers or pallet recyclers. PECO says its pallets are its property and that it is illegal to sell, buy, exchange or repurpose them.

State law can back this up. California, for example, makes it punishable for an unauthorized person to possess a merchandise pallet marked with an owner's name, or for anyone but the owner to remove those marks (Business and Professions Code section 22753).

What that means for you:

• Do not buy, sell, repair, grind or burn pooled pallets.
• If blue or red pallets pile up at your dock, request a pickup. CHEP has an online collection request, and PECO takes requests by phone, email or web form.
• If a white-wood supplier delivers a load with pooled pallets mixed in, refuse those pallets. They are not the supplier's to sell.

How pooling is priced

Neither CHEP nor PECO posts a rate card on its website, and CHEP quotes each customer based on its needs. The structure, though, is published.

In a 2009 investor presentation, Brambles (CHEP's parent) described CHEP's pricing with these fee types:

• Issue fee: for issuing a quality-checked pallet from a service center.
• Daily hire fee: for each day a customer uses, or remains responsible for, a pallet.
• Transfer fee: charged as pallets transfer into a retail channel.
• Movement fee: per movement under load before return to CHEP.
• Transport fee: for pallet delivery or collection.
• Administrative fees: for lost equipment or late declarations.

Brambles noted that this is the principal structure and does not cover every fee. In the U.S. it described a "one way trip" model in which issue fees are the main revenue source and the customer taking the issue pays.

PECO took a different approach in a 2010 interview with Modern Materials Handling, saying it bills one flat rate per pallet rather than an issue fee plus a rental rate. Ask any pool for its current fee schedule in writing.

Before you sign, get clear answers to these questions:

• What triggers each charge, and when does the hire clock stop?
• How fast must you declare shipments, and what does a late declaration cost?
• When is a pallet counted as lost, and who pays when a receiver does not return it?
• Are there delivery, collection or minimum-volume charges?
• How does the pool handle exports and receivers outside its recovery network?

Your real cost depends on how long pallets sit with you, how accurately your team declares shipments, and how reliably your customers' docks return empties.

When pooling makes sense

• You ship full pallet loads on a regular schedule into grocery, retail or distribution networks where the pool already collects empties. Modern Materials Handling described fast-moving consumer goods as the "sweet spot" for pooling.
• Your customers ask for it. Check each customer's routing guide or vendor requirements.
• You run automated lines and want one consistent pallet spec. CHEP markets the dimensional consistency of its block pallet for automated facilities.
• You do not want to own, store or repair pallets.

When white-wood makes more sense

• Pallets stay with you. In-plant handling, long-term storage and shuttles between your own buildings can rack up hire charges on a rented pallet.
• Your receivers are scattered or small, so empties may not get back to the pool.
• Your volume is low or irregular.
• You want to own the asset. You pick the grade and build, and when pallets wear out you can sell them as cores to a recycler. Trade press notes that recycled pool pallets stay with the pool, while recycled white pallets are resold.

White-wood comes in recycled grades and new builds. Current delivered ranges for 48x40 truckloads are $4.75–$6.75 for Grade B, $6.75–$8.75 for Grade A, $8.50–$10.50 for AAA and $6.25–$8.50 for recycled block (as of October 15, 2026). New pallets are quoted per order because lumber drives the price. See current prices and the guide to new vs recycled pallets.

Pooled vs white-wood at a glance

	Pooled (CHEP, PECO, iGPS)	White-wood (recycled or new)
Ownership	Pool company keeps title	You own the pallet
How you pay	Contract fees (issue, hire, transfer or flat per pallet), plus loss and admin charges	One delivered purchase price
Spec	The pool's standard pallet	Your choice: grade, stringer or block, new or recycled, heat treated
After you ship	Declare the shipment; the pool collects empties	The pallet goes with the load
Repairs	Done by the pool	Done by you or your supplier
Surplus pallets	Must go back to the pool	Can be sold as cores
Admin work	Portal declarations and reconciliation	Purchasing and inventory
Typical fit	Recurring full loads into retail and grocery networks	In-plant use, mixed receivers, lower volume

Run your own numbers

Pooling vs buying is a math problem with your data in it: trips per year, days on hire, loss rate and your delivered white-wood price. Plug them into the pooling calculator, then compare white-wood quotes for the same volume. If you buy by the truckload, the truckload calculator shows the per-pallet cost of a full load.

FAQ

Can I buy CHEP or PECO pallets?

No. CHEP says it never sells or gives up ownership of its pallets, and PECO says its pallets are its property and may not be bought, sold or repurposed. You can only rent them under a contract.

What should I do with CHEP or PECO pallets left at my dock?

Request a pickup. CHEP has an online collection request for blue pallets, and PECO takes pickup requests by phone, email or its website.

Is pallet pooling cheaper than buying pallets?

It depends on how long pallets stay with you, how many go missing and whether your receivers return them. Price both options with your own volumes in the pooling calculator.

What is the difference between pallet pooling and a pallet exchange?

In a pool, the pool company owns the pallets and you pay to use them. In an exchange, trading partners swap pallets one for one and ownership transfers with the load.

What is a white-wood pallet?

Any pallet you buy and own outright, as opposed to renting it from CHEP or PECO. The name comes from the bare, unpainted wood. You can reuse it, repair it or sell it, and no one collects it from your customers.