In a report in its newsletter released in February, Aselube said the country’s lubricant demand declined to 332,000 tons in 2022, compared to 338,000 tons in 2021. That year’s total was up from 305,000 tons in the pandemic-disrupted 2020 – lowest since 2014 – but down from 348,000 tons in 2019.

The Madrid-headquartered association said that in its quarterly analysis of 2022’s lubricant demand, the only year-on-year improvement was the 94,000 tons of demand in the second quarter, a 2% increase from the same period in 2021.

In terms of monthly year-on-year changes, the association noted that Spain’s lubricant demand was only higher year-on-year in May, by 9%, in June, by 1% and August, by 5%. All other months showed demand down from a year earlier, with the deepest decreases including a 7% decline in November and an 11% fall in December.

In its report, Aselube Statistics Commission President Gabriel Lopez noted that Spain’s lubricants market faced a variety of factors impacting market recovery. All the factors related to the consequences of the crises linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, he noted, especially the difficulties in obtaining raw materials, shortages in many materials and components, cost increases and other macroeconomic elements preventing recovery in the automotive industry and in industry in general.

Compared to 2021, Spain’s automotive lubricant demand decreased 3%, industrial lubricant consumption declined 4%, process oils edged down 1% and grease demand was down 2%. The only lubricants category showing growth from 2021 was marine and aviation, with an 11% jump that the association attributed to general lifting of the limitations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, automotive lubricants consumption accounted for 43% of Spain’s lubricant demand, and industrial lubricants made up 34%. Marine and aviation oils constituted 7% of demand and process oils made up the remainder.