Third Party Management/Rental:


  CHEP USA Turns 20: Pallet Pooler Makes Indelible Mark on Industry, Demonstrates Path for Future Transformation - As CHEP marks its 20th anniversary in the United States, the Pallet Enterprise looks into what made the rental giant such a success story and what lessons the industry can learn from its ability to institute systemic change.   (9/1/2010)

  Pallet Pool User Education Series: Quality Should Be Job #1 -- Top Quality Concerns to Spot in Conducting Pallet Audits - Andrew Mosqueda discusses top quality concerns to look for when conducting a pallet audit, looking specifically at the differences between white wood and rental markets.  (8/1/2010)

  Pallet Pooling Insider - Navigating the West Coast Agriculture Business - Pallet pooling consultant outlines the market dynamics and regulatory burdens of the West Coast pallet business.   (6/1/2010)

  Pallet Pool Insider: The Right Stuff - Starting a New Industry Pallet Pool - Former CHEP employee muses about ingredients needed to build an successful white wood pool.   (4/1/2010)

  Pallet Math = Profit$ for All: Experts Study the Economic Feasibility of an Industry Cooperative Pool - Pallet Math: Economic feasibility study by Penn State confirms profit potential for new, industry cooperative block pool in the United States  (4/1/2010)

  Letter from Ed: Do You Know Where Your Children Are? - Ed Brindley talks about the new iGPS compensation plan for recyclers and the latest in the CHEP antitrust case.   (12/1/2009)

  Pallet User Education Series: Smart Management Techniques to Avoid Lost Pallet Charges - Pallet rental companies promise no headaches and ease of use. But in reality, rental programs tend to come with different headaches from a typical one-way pallet model.   (10/1/2009)

  Pallet User Education Series: Negotiating the Pitfalls of Rental Pallet Contracts - Andrew Mosqueda, industry veteran, identifies major pitfalls in negotiating rental pallet contracts and provides advice on how to save money by negotiating the little details.   (9/1/2009)

  German Court Upholds EPAL Trademark - EPAL Trademark Ruling: Court prohibits sale of copycat EPAL pallets; ruling raises questions about maintaining standards in a cost-conscious environment.  (8/1/2009)

  LPR Upgrades Depot Infrastructure, Extends Pallet Pool Coverage in Europe - LPR: European pallet pooling service LPR emphasizes service at local level, uses team approach to respond to different countries and market conditions.  (8/1/2009)

  Pallet User Education Series: Red, White & Blue: A Cost Analysis of Rental vs. White Wood Pallets - Red, White & Blue: Former CHEP insider provides real world analysis of costs associated with rental and white wood pallet programs; first in series of columns focused on pallet users.  (7/1/2009)

  Redefining the Pallet Business: PALNET Offers National Interface, Local Service to Major Accounts - PALNET Interview: Michael Smith, COO of PALNET, talks about professionalism in the pallet industry and what his company is doing to change the way customers think about pallets.  (6/1/2009)

  IFCO Reaches Record Settlement in Immigration Probe - IFCO Settlement: IFCO Systems agrees to pay a record $20.7 million to settle immigration violations; company admits responsibility but is freed from federal prosecution.  (2/1/2009)

  CHEP Uses Technology to Meet Supply Chain Challenges: Pooler Institutes Quality Control Program, Six Sigma Principles - CHEP Quality Initiative: CHEP says its customers are seeing the benefits from a $100 million quality improvement program it launched last year; the company has improved pallet repair standards and more.  (2/1/2009)

  Markets in Transition: Lost in Translation - There was a new Italian pallet study on 3rd Party Logistics providers released in mid-June. It is written in Italian, but with the power of Google Translate, it was revealed to me.  (8/1/2008)

  Grocer Users & Pallet Leaders Unite,Industry Leaders Launch Block Pool Initiative - Block Pallet Pool Launch: Industry leaders unveil concept for a block pallet pool and seek input from industry and pallet users.  (8/1/2008)

  Letter from Ed: Pallet Pools – A Changing World at Wal-Mart - Wal-Mart’s new pallet initiative is directed toward providers of pooled pallets within its supply chain. Although it is not limited to CHEP, certainly CHEP is the biggest part of this service at this time.   (6/1/2008)

  Thinking Ahead–Letter from Chaille: Proprietary Pallet Dilemmas — Mine, Mine! - A number of recyclers have reported being “visited” by private law enforcement working on behalf of Coke. One of these incidents involved the manager of a pallet yard being arrested by police and taken off in handcuffs.  (3/1/2008)

  iGPS Signs First National Account, Looking for Depot Partners - iGPS Ramps Up: Intelligent Global Pooling Systems lands first national account for its pool of RFID-tagged plastic rental pallets. Company looks for recyclers to provide depot service.  (2/1/2008)

  PECO Makes Inroads, Touts Quality - PECO Inroads: PECO has been quietly growing from a regional pallet rental company to a viable option for major companies; a company executive talks about PECO’s plans for the future.  (1/1/2008)

  Markets in Transition: Technology to Prevent Pallet Loss in the Field - While the business case for automatically capturing reusable pallet data is still unfolding, there is a middle ground of sorts for some applications.  (8/1/2007)

  Loscam in the Driver’s Seat In Asian Market for Pallet Rental Pool Service: Australian Company Differentiates Itself from CHEP - Loscam Growing in Asia: Australian-based pallet rental company positions itself as the market leader in Asia; Loscam differentiates itself from CHEP in products and services.  (8/1/2007)

  USPS Develops Interim Return Procedures - Postal Pallets: U.S. Postal Service issues interim procedures for returning stray postal pallets.  (6/1/2007)

  Thinking Ahead–Letter from Chaille: Lost or Stolen? Postal Pallets Pose a Problem - Suddenly aware of many postal pallets outside of its possession, the USPS is talking about breaking bad on anyone who has these government pallets and refuses to return them. The issue of postal pallets came up at the recent Western Pallet Association meeting.  (3/1/2007)

  Federal Judge Awards Mock $5 per Pallet, CHEP Decides Not to Appeal - Proprietary Pallet Return: Series covering fair compensation for the return of stray pallets. Includes Mock trial update, Clarence Leising’s column on CHEP’s ARP and a summary of a recent survey on retrieval/return costs.  (10/1/2006)

  Thinking Ahead–Letter from Chaille: All’s Fair in Love & Pallets - Ricky Mock, president of Mock Pallet Company (MPC), Covington, Ga., obviously does not believe the ARP is fair. Mock Pallet has been sued by CHEP and has counter sued the rental giant for unjust enrichment.  (8/1/2006)

  Former CHEP CEO Discusses the Future Of Pallet Rental - iGPS: Former CHEP CEO talks about his years at Big Blue and his plans for launching a 100% plastic pallet pool to compete against his former company.  (7/1/2006)

  Pallet Art Livens Up New Zealand - Pallet Maze: Over 1,500 CHEP pallets are arranged in Auckland City, New Zealand to form a gigantic, life-size maze.  (6/1/2006)

  IPP Logipal Continues Growth - IPP Logipal: Things continue to look up for the pallet pooling businesses of Netherlands-based Faber Halbertsma Group; revenue from pallet pooling is overtaking sales of new and recycled pallets.  (5/1/2006)

  Recyclers Unite to Form PALNET - This new network allows regional recyclers to service national accounts and stay in the hunt for cores coming from major retailers.   (2/1/2006)

  Markets in Transition: Third-Party Plastic Pallets -- To Defend and Expand - Plastic pallet and container companies have shown an increasing interest in third-party management in recent years, and over the longer haul, that should be a good business move for many of them.  (2/1/2006)

  Thoroughness Will Help Ensure Success of Third-Party Logistics Management - Premise of third-party management or outsourcing makes sense to many customers: stick to core competencies and outsource non-core activities, such as pallet management.  (11/1/2005)

  Pallet Pool Provides Quality, Cost Control for Dutch Brewery Industry - Pool Organization Blends Balanced Cooperative, Commercial Approaches   (4/1/2005)

  Cooperating to Compete: White Wood Pallet Rental Service Near? - Program for Pallet Companies to Compete in Grocery Rental Market  (2/7/2005)

  Access Poses Problem for Multiple Closed Loop Systems - Highlights from 2004 Articles  (1/3/2005)

  Pooling Less Costly Than Buying One-Way Pallets, Study Shows - Australian Investment Analysis Firm Examines Global Pallet Pooling  (12/1/2004)

  First Alliance Logistics Management Adapts to Succeed, Has Dual Strategy - Network of Pallet Suppliers Marks 10th Anniversary, Continues Focus on Custom Pallets  (8/1/2004)

  What’s In Store for Big Blue? - CHEP USA President Answers Tough Questions, Gives Look into the Future   (6/2/2004)

  Mock Pallet Wins $584,000 - CHEP Loses First Major Jury Trial   (6/2/2004)

  Restructured, Refocused, IFCO Systems Takes Aim at National Level Programs - After finding itself on some precarious financial footing in recent years, IFCO Systems has emerged on solid ground.  (6/2/2004)

  Dave Wants to Get Everyone on the BUS - Markets in Transition  (5/3/2004)

  Counter-Intuitive Natural Laws of Pallet Centauri - Markets in Transition  (2/2/2004)

  CHEP’s RFID Lessons - CHEP launches new RFID enabled pallets.   (2/2/2004)

  White Wood Dream or Recycler Nightmare? - Exploring the future of a white wood exchange pool.   (8/1/2003)

  White Wood Gets Up Off the Mat, Returns to the Ring - Just when it seemed that the white wood pool was going to go down for a final 10 count, a bucket of cold water stirred it back to consciousness.   (8/1/2003)

  Flying Solo or Teaming Up — Which Is Better In The Long Run? - Ed Brindley explores the future of pallet recycling and the highly controversial topic of joining any of the emerging white wood networks.  (7/1/2003)

  The Ups and Downs of Big Blue - CHEP Makes News, Deals, & Enemies  (5/3/2002)

  Hays Container Services Taking New Approach to RPC Market - Hays Container Service's RPCs now accepted at Wal-Mart.  (11/16/2001)

  Merger Positions Chep for Growth - Chep's two parent companies propose a merger that would give Brambles Industries ownership of Chep; merger could position Chep for renewed growth.  (6/1/2001)

  PalEx (IFCO Systems) Makes Significant Announcements - IFCO on the Go: IFCO Systems decides to divest its $175 million pallet manufacturing operations and also adds several important pallet recycling company acquisitions.  (10/1/2000)

  IFCO to Launch New Pallet Pool, ‘Flex Pallet System’ in Canada - IFCO Systems to begin pallet rental pool in Canada.  (7/1/2000)

  Third-Party Patchwork Will Accelerate Paradigm Shift - Third-Party: Third-party pallet management continues to expand and diversify; a rapidly growing, increasingly diverse infrastructure for pallet and container management is falling into place.  (3/1/2000)

  Chep Continues Growth in Key Sectors - CHEP continues to expand in key 48x40 North American market; CHEP makes breakthroughs in grocery RPCs.  (3/1/2000)

  Pallet Exchange: How Big, Ugly, Is Your Truck Driver? - There is good news and bad news when it comes to pallet exchange as an ongoing source for cores in the years ahead.  (2/1/2000)

  Wirebound Container Industry Expects Modest Yet Steady Groweth - Specialized segment of container industry expects modest yet steady growth; new product readied to compete against reusable plastic in agricultural market.  (2/1/2000)

  What Will Happen to the Pallet Industry If Pallet Rental Growth Continues? - If pallet rental continues to grow, what will be the impact on the overall pallet industry? A must-read report covers the future of the industry and market changes that will affect everyone.  (11/1/1999)

  What Price Recovery? Fair Compensation for Recyclers Is Essential to Ending Contention Over Pallet Ownership - The Cost of Recovery: Fair compensation for pallet recyclers who recover rental pallets and proprietary pallets will be a key to resolving the conflicts over pallet ownership.  (11/1/1999)

  Chep's First Defeat in Court Raises Even More Questions About Lost Pallets - Resembling a plot from a TV police drama, the story of Atlas Pallet started out as a disagreement with Chep over pallet ownership and turned into police raids and a criminal trial.  (9/1/1999)

  Letter from Ed - 'The Wal-Mart Blues' - Dr. Brindley raises concerns over the future of the industry and the impact a strong Wal-Mart/Chep relationship might have on recyclers!  (9/1/1999)

  Letter from Ed - The San Antonio Incident - Description of recycler meeting to discuss future of industry and pallet ownership.  (7/1/1999)

  Letter from Ed - The Rumors Can Now Change! - PE publisher examines what the PalEx/IFCO merger means for pallet and container rental/third party management.  (5/1/1999)

  PalEx Goes Global - PalEx Goes Global : PalEx to merge with German reusable container company IFCO in a move that has far reaching consequences.  (5/1/1999)

  Outlook for Third-Party Pallet Management: Growth and Change - Third-Party Providers: Third-party pallet management services continue to grow, but it also is changing; this special report provides a 'snapshot' look at what the big players are doing.  (3/1/1999)