Adrian Brown is away. His column will reappear in the Sept. 26 edition of Lube Report Americas.

North Americas lubricant market is expected to inch up from 2.9 billion gallons in 2017 to 3 billion gallons by 2020, with industrial oils continuing to constitute the largest share, according to consultancy Kline & Co. Government policies, including potential changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement and new environmental rules in the United States, should spur growth in some cases and tamp down demand in others.

Efforts to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions will continue pushing United States engine oils towards lower viscosities while gradually stimulating demand for API Group III base oil, an industry insider said at a conference held in Des Moines, Iowa, late last month.

Industry organizations complained this week that a rule proposed recently by the Environmental Protection Agency could inappropriately subject some chlorinated paraffins and other chemicals to new regulations.

Moove, the lubricant and base oil arm of Brazil-based energy multinational Cosan, announced the recent acquisition of two lubricant distributors in Europe - Lubrigrupo in Portugal and TTA Lubrifiants in France.