Chlorine Prices Continue
SKYROCKETING BY JOE TRUSTY
Consumers are feeling a pain in their wallets for the second year in a row as prices for trichlor and sanitizer alternatives continue to rise this summer.
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ith no relief in sight, chlorine prices continue to soar as costs keep rising for pool chemicals this summer. Since almost the very start of the pandemic, prices for pool sanitizers like chlorine have nearly doubled and at the retail level consumers are paying nearly triple what they were before the end of 2020. Soaring costs for fuel, rising inflation, and a litany of other factors such as logistical delays and workforce shortages have plagued the pool industry. A factory closure due to a fire at one of the nation’s largest producers of dried chlorine products certainly did not help matters.
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POOL MAGAZINE - VOL 2, ISSUE 3
BioLab, the manufacturer in question is spending $170 million dollars on rebuilding their plant after it burnt to the ground during Hurricane Laura. While many pool professionals were hoping that the plant would be back online in time to impact and offset summer chlorine prices, a series of delays related to a second hurricane has pushed back operations. Consequently, any impact BioLab’s production would have had on this year’s chlorine supply is now a moot point. Industry pundits and analysts know what caused prices to spike. That’s never been the issue. The question, that remains to be answered: When will chlorine prices go back down? The answer is, they won’t.
