Japan consumed 124,191 kiloliters (111,700 metric tons) of finished lubricants in November last year, down 23% from November 2019, according to data released last week by a government agency.
The November 2020 total represented a decline from the previous month, when the nation consumed 160,987 kL of lubricants, suggesting a stall in the industry’s recovery from impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country’s lubricant consumption during the January-November period of 2020 totaled 1 million kL, down 14% from 1.2 million kL in the same period in 2019. The highest consumption volume during that period was 133,229 kL in October, a level that was 17% higher than the same month in 2019. The lowest consumption volume occurred in May 2020, at 98,100 kL, down 27% — that was also the largest percent year to year decrease over that time.
The nation’s production of lubricants, which includes exports, declined to 149,657 kL in November, down 28% from 208,216 kL in November 2019.
Imports were up slightly, while exports experienced a sharp decline from a year earlier. Imports increased 10% to 27,587 kL, while exports fell 37% to 52,072 kL.