Construction Delayed (Nationwide Resin Shortage?)

[TFPNoobie]

In July 2020 I signed a contract to have my pool installed in Aug 2021. However, it is now Sep and my PB has said that because of the nationwide resin shortage, Latham is unable to deliver pools to meet their deadlines. He said he can install 1.5 pools a week but he's only getting 1-2 pools a month from Latham. He's afraid of running out of the pools that he has to install because if he runs out of work then his crew will leave. So he's only installing 2-3 pools a month which is pushing everyone back including me.

I call the PB every month for an update and every month is pretty much the same. My pool was ordered in Sep 2020 but it still hasn't been delivered. I also called Latham and they confirmed that they've had some supply chain issues because of COVID and the big Texas freeze last winter which impacted the resin supply. They're unable to tell me anything about my order because it's a contract between them and the PB and I'm an outside 3rd party.

I don't really see any posts discussing this but I was wondering if anyone else is waiting on a fiberglass pool because of a supply issue. Whether it's from Latham or another manufacturer.

Thanks

 

[woodyp]

@Casey. I know she is getting one

 

[setsailsoon]

I read a story about this earlier in the year. It seems winter storm damage caused outages at resin producers that is still affecting everything made from it including resins used in boat hulls and I would guess pools. Latest stories are on Google and seem to offer some hope but supply chain is a long ways from normal.

 

[Casey]

I ordered a pool from Imagine Pools in March. My pool is scheduled for delivery on September 28th. My pool build has successfully installed 12 pools this year (on the low end for him) and he has a few pools after mine. Imagine has been shipping him pools throughout the summer with an approximate delay of around 6 weeks. I just spoke to him about an hour ago and we are on track to dig on a Monday and drop it on Tuesday.

 

[gingrbredman]

There are a few posts here about FG shell delays, and it seems like Latham is one of the longest right now.

Fiberglass Pool Build - Lead Times

Hello All, The full history/backstory of my experience is below. The overall question is pretty simple so skip to the bottom please if you just want to see the question. Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I am trying to confirm some information that is being told to me and my googling has...

www.troublefreepool.com

Survey of Fiberglass Pool Lead Times for '21 installations

I am new to the forum, and joined as I anxiously await an install date for a fiberglass pool. I understand that there are numerous factors that are resulting in unprecedented delays in the delivery of Fiberglass pools, that is affecting both pool builders and customers. It is very hard to pin...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[TFPNoobie]

Latham just went public last spring. I'm tempted to email the largest shareholders because I see Latham press releases back in May stating that they'll meet demand despite the resin/labor shortages. But that may be cutting my nose off to spite my face. What Latham is stating publicly doesn't match what us customers are experiencing.

 

[ajw22]

Latham just went public last spring. I'm tempted to email the largest shareholders because I see Latham press releases back in May stating that they'll meet demand despite the resin/labor shortages.

You are dealing with corporate speak. The demand they are referring to are the booked orders from their distributors that are being throttled. They are managing their demand to match available manufacturing capacity.

That is different then market demand of what they could sell if they had unlimited manufacturing capacity.

 

[crashed97tsi]

I am the first post that gingrbredman quoted. I can confirm I was hearing the same thing you were from San Juan. It's chaos right now, they literally shipped it with no notice to my PB.

I'm not complaining because I actually got the thing luckily but I was hearing the same stuff you were.

 

[TFPNoobie]

You are dealing with corporate speak. The demand they are referring to are the booked orders from their distributors that are being throttled. They are managing their demand to match available manufacturing capacity.

That is different then market demand of what they could sell if they had unlimited manufacturing capacity.

I'm not sure if that makes any real sense. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding. "They are managing their demand to match manufacturing capacity"? A supplier has no ability to "manage demand". They can increase or decrease output.

"Parts of the pool industry have been hobbled by the rising cost of materials such as plastic resins as well as delays in material deliveries, though Rajeski says Latham has not been impacted by the supply chain issues and is “in a really good position” to meet the increased demand."

That doesn't sound like a materially false statement? Latham has not been impacted and is in a really good position to meet the increased demand? I can tell you that as a customer who has a pool on order, that is not accurate.

 

[TFPNoobie]

I am the first post that gingrbredman quoted. I can confirm I was hearing the same thing you were from San Juan. It's chaos right now, they literally shipped it with no notice to my PB.

I'm not complaining because I actually got the thing luckily but I was hearing the same stuff you were.

And I noticed that you're in the Philly area as well. When I was reading that post I was wondering if we had the same PB, lol.

I hope you are safe from that storm yesterday. Pretty crazy.

 

[ajw22]

Again, that is corporate speak and any good analyst or investor does channel checks and does not take what companies say as accurate. That is a "forward looking statement" that companies say should not be relied upon. "Materially false statements' usually have to do with historical financial statements.

Elon Musk has been saying that Teslas will be "Full Self Driving" real soon now since I think 2016. Companies have lots of leeway in what they say as forward looking statements.

 

[phonedave]

I am in New Jersey. I ordered a hot tub in June 2020 and I got in March of 2021. It was delayed because of resin supply issues.

 

[phonedave]

Again, that is corporate speak and any good analyst or investor does channel checks and does not take what companies say as accurate. That is a "forward looking statement" that companies say should not be relied upon. "Materially false statements' usually have to do with historical financial statements.

Elon Musk has been saying that Teslas will be "Full Self Driving" real soon now since I think 2016. Companies have lots of leeway in what they say as forward looking statements.

Exactly - look up "Safe Harbor Statement". Almost every company puts this at the any of any financial or operational projection.

A statement typically found in the fine print at the end of a corporation’s press release that says that the “forward-looking statements” are based on a number of events and assumptions. It cautions investors not to put too much reliance on these statements because they are subject to a number of uncertainties that the company can’t control and that may cause the results to differ from the statements. The readers of the release are referred to the company’s filings with the SEC for further information. The safe harbor statement received a large push from the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. That law protects issuers of publicly-traded securities from liability for certain financial projections and related facts and figures. The SEC’s rules require companies to say that their projections are forward-looking and to include cautionary statements advising investors about key risk factors that might affect the statements’ accuracy.

 

[TFPNoobie]

@phonedave Although I agree with your assessment of the safe harbor statement, the following statement is less forward-looking;

"Rajeski says Latham has not been impacted by the supply chain issues".

And I say that's a materially false statement because it clearly misled investors to prop up share price for its recent IPO. How do I know it's false? Because I contacted Latham a few months ago and they told me that there are delays because of supply chain issues, lol.

However, it does look like it was addressed in their Q2 earnings call. So I guess the point is really moot.

Scott Rajeski -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Mark. I am very proud of all we have accomplished so far in just a few months as a public company. The last 18 months have been unlike anything we've ever seen and through it all, whether it be the pandemic or the ongoing supply chain challenges or whatever might come next, our team members continue to show up every day to drive our business forward. We are seeing great traction on our efforts to reimagine the pool buying experience for customers, and we are excited about our opportunities to drive future growth.

 

[phonedave]

@phonedave Although I agree with your assessment of the safe harbor statement, the following statement is less forward-looking;

"Rajeski says Latham has not been impacted by the supply chain issues".

And I say that's a materially false statement because it clearly misled investors to prop up share price for its recent IPO. How do I know it's false? Because I contacted Latham a few months ago and they told me that there are delays because of supply chain issues, lol.

However, it does look like it was addressed in their Q2 earnings call. So I guess the point is really moot.

Scott Rajeski -- President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Mark. I am very proud of all we have accomplished so far in just a few months as a public company. The last 18 months have been unlike anything we've ever seen and through it all, whether it be the pandemic or the ongoing supply chain challenges or whatever might come next, our team members continue to show up every day to drive our business forward. We are seeing great traction on our efforts to reimagine the pool buying experience for customers, and we are excited about our opportunities to drive future growth.

Well, acknowledging supply chain challenges is not the same as being IMPACTED by those challenges.

Impacted is an other 'weasel word' - What does "not impacted" mean. If your Jan 1 CV was $2M and then in June you FY view was now $3, but then in September something happened and your FY is now $2.5M would you tell the street that you were impacted by the September event or not. Your FY is down, but you are still on track to exceed your CV

 

[TFPNoobie]

Well, acknowledging supply chain challenges is not the same as being IMPACTED by those challenges.

Impacted is an other 'weasel word' - What does "not impacted" mean. If your Jan 1 CV was $2M and then in June you FY view was now $3, but then in September something happened and your FY is now $2.5M would you tell the street that you were impacted by the September event or not. Your FY is down, but you are still on track to exceed your CV

Yeah. I mean you can dance around words all you want and that's what CEO's get paid to do. The President and CEO telling investors at IPO time that you haven't been impacted by the supply chain issues during the same quarter related to the following Q2 results statement seems to be a bit of an issue to me. The statement directly attributes lower margins, in part, to constrained raw material supply.

Anyway, I really don't care. I just want my Dang pool. haha

Gross margin decreased to 32.3%, compared to 39.3% for the prior year period. The decline in gross margin was due to temporary cost-savings initiatives implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lower rebates and incentive plan accruals in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, which reflected modest sales volumes, as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2021, which was impacted by the inclusion of non-cash stock-based compensation expense, higher growth-related rebates from sales growth and challenges in the supply chain, including constrained raw material supply that has resulted in intermittent manufacturing inefficiencies and cost inflation. These factors were not fully offset by the timing of price increases and benefits of positive mix shift dynamics.

 

[phonedave]

Yeah. I mean you can dance around words all you want and that's what CEO's get paid to do. The President and CEO telling investors at IPO time that you haven't been impacted by the supply chain issues during the same quarter related to the following Q2 results statement seems to be a bit of an issue to me. The statement directly attributes lower margins, in part, to constrained raw material supply.

Anyway, I really don't care. I just want my Dang pool. haha

Gross margin decreased to 32.3%, compared to 39.3% for the prior year period. The decline in gross margin was due to temporary cost-savings initiatives implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lower rebates and incentive plan accruals in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, which reflected modest sales volumes, as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2021, which was impacted by the inclusion of non-cash stock-based compensation expense, higher growth-related rebates from sales growth and challenges in the supply chain, including constrained raw material supply that has resulted in intermittent manufacturing inefficiencies and cost inflation. These factors were not fully offset by the timing of price increases and benefits of positive mix shift dynamics.

It's not really "dancing". Financial statements (as well as contracts and other legal devices) use very specific language. It is not to obfuscate facts, but to be very specific as to what is being conveyed.

I used to be a regulatory engineer that wrote rate tariffs for the electric, water, and gas industry. We worked with our lawyer to craft very specific language in legal documents such as those.