Japan’s production of finished lubricants decreased 7%, while domestic sales were down 4% in September, a government agency reported Tuesday.
The country’s produced 211,486 kiloliters (190,000 metric tons) of finished lubricants during the month, compared to 227,918 kL in September of 2022, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. September’s production volume was the second-highest this year, behind the 231,840 kL produced in March.
Domestic lubricant sales declined to 180,216 kL in September, compared to 187,308 kL. As with production, the month’s domestic lubricants sales were the highest since March’s volume of 176,282 kL.
The volume of lubricants exported in September fell 28% to 49,665 kL, compared to 68,314 kL. It was the second lowest export volume this year, ahead only of 45,320 kL in June.
Lubricant imports volume climbed 19% to 8,315 kL, compared to 6,987 kL. However, the only lower import figure this year was 6,048 kL in July.
Grease production in the country went down 8% to 4,964 metric tons, while domestic sales decreased 6% to 4,103 tons.
The volume of grease imported into Japan fell 13% to 172 tons, while grease exported by Japan rose 20% to 65 tons.