US chlor-alkali facilities operated at 87% capacity in June, data released Thursday by the Chlorine Institute showed, the highest effective operating rate since the 87% seen in May 2013.
June's operating rate was up from 86% in May.
US chlor-alkali producers made 828,513 st of liquid chlorine, 1,022,269 st of chlorine gas and 1,080,710 st of liquid sodium hydroxide in June, the trade association said. The monthly production corresponds to daily rates of 27,617 st/d of liquid chlorine, 34,076 st/d of chlorine gas and 36,024 st/d of liquid sodium hydroxide, it said.
The daily production volume of liquid sodium hydroxide is its highest since 2009, when Platts began tracking the industry data.
The increase in production was expected by most market participants, as three major producers added more than 1.2 million ECUs/year of new capacity since the beginning of the year. Production of caustic soda is measured in electrochemical units (ECUs) which consist of 1.13 tons of caustic soda, 0.3 tons of hydrogen and 1 ton of chlorine.
Companies reporting monthly data to the Chlorine Institute account for 93% of US capacity.
