UNSPSC 15111709: Marker and dye

Markers and dyes are used for the purpose of differentiation between different commercial grades of gasoline and are also used to distinguish products attracting different duty levels, or to identify specialist products, e.g. aviation gasoline. Markers show no visible effect in fuel but on extraction with a solvent, will impart distinctive colors. Other markers can require UV or IR spectroscopy to reveal their presence and may comprise bio or nano-Materials. These techniques can be useful in providing inventory control or in deterring theft.

UNSPSC 15111709 Marker and dye is a Commodity code that maps poorly to state and local procurement activity. Recent opportunities tagged under this code involve fuel supply — gasoline, diesel, Jet-A aviation fuel, and Avgas — rather than marking dyes or fuel additives used to distinguish fuel grades. The County of Ventura RFP 6252 (issued May 29, 2026, due June 23, 2026) solicits 2.02 million gallons annually of unleaded, midgrade, and dyed diesel fuel, with historical spending of $4.6 million and deliveries to 60 county locations. The City of Tucson Air Support Unit RFP 260210 (issued April 30, 2026, due May 28, 2026) seeks 50,000 gallons annually of Jet-A turbine fuel for law enforcement aircraft. Alameda County Water District issued IFB 25/26-35 (issued April 16, 2026, due May 15, 2026) for 55,000 gallons of unleaded gasoline, 55,000 gallons of renewable diesel, and 8,500 gallons of red-dye diesel annually across five facilities. These opportunities concern fuel supply and delivery logistics, not dye products. The code shows no meaningful activity in marking or additive chemicals; the tagging appears to be a classification error.

State and local buyers posting under this code span California county water districts, Florida county governments, Georgia municipal airports, Arizona city police departments, and South Carolina county airport authorities. Geographic concentration centers on the Southeast (Georgia, Florida, South Carolina) and West Coast (California, Arizona), with sporadic Midwest and Texas activity. The recent solicitations — RFPs, RFQs, IFBs, and ITBs — uniformly specify fuel delivery services with pricing indexed to OPIS rack averages, insurance requirements, and multi-year contract terms with renewal options. Award timelines compress between 30 and 60 days from posting. Vendor qualifications consistently demand three to five years' fuel supply experience, multiple customer references, and minimum insurance coverage ranging from $1 million to $25 million depending on facility scale and aviation risk. Because the opportunities cluster in fuel rather than dye chemistry, firms pursuing genuine marker or dye procurement would find little actionable intelligence here; fuel suppliers and aviation fuel vendors dominate the code's recent posting history.