Helium shortage in the US: inflation and sanctions also deflate balloons
A severe shortage of helium in the US is driving its price up, affecting a range of uses, from industrial to lighter ones, such as balloons. There is even a shortage of this gas, produced by the decomposition of uranium, to fill the National Weather Service (NWS) weather balloons.
The United States, Qatar and Algeria are the world's leading helium producers. Due to supply chain disruptions, including the closure of manufacturing facilities and the 2017 embargo on Qatar, supplies have shrunk. This has caused severe shortages and a rise in prices… which has deflated the balloons. Here is a graph
Officials at Dollar Tree , a popular gadget and balloon store in the US, warned Thursday that "once again" the helium shortage will impact balloon sales by hitting quarterly earnings as well.
“ Currently the demand for helium is higher than the supply, so from time to time our stores find themselves temporarily helium-free waiting for new deliveries. We know this can be a problem when preparing for a party and we are very sorry for the inconvenience , ”Dollar Tree said in a statement on its website.
Earlier this month, Party City CEO Brad Weston briefed investors in a quarterly phone call about the odorless gas shortage.
The shortage affected the NWS's ability to launch weather balloons due to the inability to procure gas. Several NWS sites across the country used for weather forecasting have had to limit daily balloon launches due to a contractual dispute with a helium supplier.
The shortage has even put an end to a 60-year University of Nebraska tradition where Huskers football fans will no longer release balloons into the sky this fall due to what University of Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts said: "The acquisition of helium nowadays, given some production, is really problematic and has been difficult to obtain."
If there is no helium for amusement uses, there certainly isn't much helium for important industrial uses either, from electronics to aviation to welding and breathing systems. A big problem, but the sanctions against Qatar are also self-inflicting damage.
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The article Helium Shortage in the USA: inflation and sanctions also deflate balloons comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/carenza-di-elio-negli-usa-inflazione-e-sanzioni-sgonfiano-anche-i-palloncini/ on Sat, 28 May 2022 12:00:46 +0000.