Brazil and Mexico face urgent needs for higher performing lubricants because available supply is not fully aligned with the needs of the two countries’ respective fleets, an industry insider told the ICIS Pan American Base Oils & Lubricants Conference in New Jersey earlier this month. A Lubrizol official said the mismatch gives less than optimal protection to engines and prevents operators from shifting to lighter-viscosity oils.

Fuchs Petrolub and L.B. Foster Co. have announced a strategic partnership to supply lubricants and friction management services to the rail industry in North America and abroad. Fuchs is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany, but it indicated that the partnership will be run through its United States subsidiary, Fuchs Lubricants Co., which is based in Harvey, Illinois. L.B. Foster’s headquarters is in Pittsburgh, but it has subsidiaries in Canada, Europe and China.

In model year 2021, the average estimated real-world carbon dioxide emission rate for all new vehicles sold in the United States fell by 2 grams per mile to 347 g/mi, the lowest ever measured, while real-world fuel economy remained at a national record of 25.4 miles per gallon, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported in its 2022 automotive trends report.