(Bloomberg) -- The average operating rate of U.S. chlorine and caustic soda makers, which include Dow Chemical Co., dropped to 80 percent in October, a trade group said.
The industry's average operating rate for plants that make the chemicals known as chlor-alkali fell from 91 percent in September, The Chlorine Institute, based in Arlington, Virginia, said today in an e-mail. Plants on average ran at 79 percent of capacity in October 2009.
Chlorine is used to make vinyl products such as siding and PVC pipe. Caustic soda, produced in tandem with chlorine, is used to make pulp, paper and soap.