Oil costs may have retreated, but prices for chemicals used in lubricants continue to rise. Troy Corp., Chemtura and Suprestra all announced increases during the past month.
Troy said it will impose increases of up to 10 percent worldwide Jan. 1 on a variety of products used in lubricants and other applications. They include surfactants sold under the Troysol brand, dispersants sold under the Troysperse brand, Troykyd defoamers and rheology modifiers that carry the Troythix label.
Separately, the Florham Park, N.J., company said it will raise prices on Polyphase biocides by 53 cents per pound to $1.78 per pound, effective Dec. 10. Officials attributed both announcements to increased costs for raw materials, energy, transportation and packaging.
Suppliers are still catching up with energy-related cost increases including freight that they incurred earlier in the year, Vice President of Marketing David Faherty told Lube Report. And suppliers continue to say that supply of propylene and certain ethylene derivatives is tight and not tied directly to the cost of crude but [is due to] tight supply and strong demand.
Chemtura added between 4 cents and 15 cents per pound to its prices for metallic stearates, including some that are used in greases. The Middlebury, Conn., chemical company made the markups effective Nov. 15.
Suprestra, which is based in Ardsley, N.Y., added 5 percent to 15 percent to worldwide prices for flame retardant industrial lubricants, such as hydraulic fluids and turbine oils, marketed under the Fyrquel brand. Those increases took effect Nov. 15.