Volume 10 Issue 12

API SN Ballot in Limbo
March 24, 2010When API approved the ILSAC GF-5 passenger car engine oil specification in December, approval of the new API SN category in time to launch alongside GF-5 seemed like a foregone conclusion. The reality so far has been different. The American Petroleum Institutes Service Category SN and SN Resource Conserving ballot has bogged down over revisions sought by automakers, bringing into question whether the new category can still launch at the same time as ILSAC GF-5 in October. Products meeting GF-5...

Rosy Outlook for Pale Oils
March 24, 2010LONDON – The potential market for naphthenic base oils will grow by 50 percent, from about 5 million tons in 2010 to 7.5 million tons in 2020, a Nynas executive predicts. Pale oil demand already exceeds production capacity. The world has enough naphthenic crudes from traditional sources and emerging ones, Jean-Marie Toullat, marketing director with Swedens Nynas, told the ICIS World Base Oils & Lubricants Conference here last month. After seeing their conventional markets shrink si...

Ford Knocks 3,000-mile Intervals
March 24, 2010Ford issued an automotive maintenance myths statement March 12 that labels the idea that cars need oil changes every three months or 3,000 miles as a myth, though fast lubes caution that such an interval is still smart for many vehicles driven under severe conditions. That used to be true, but not with newer cars, Ford stated. Because of synthetic oils that dont break down as quickly, consumers actually dont need oil changes as often – more like every 5,000 to 7,500 miles – or even ...

Lube Packaging Trends to Watch
March 24, 2010THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Cost savings and customer benefits are the drivers behind todays lubricant packaging trends, but they often conflict. Packaging weights have decreased by 15 to 40 percent in the last decade and there is still room for savings, but one packaging expert predicts more focus on customer benefits like ergonomics, attractiveness and individualization in the future. Christian Musiol, market development director with Bericap GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, gave an update on inter...

Toyota Replaces Faulty Oil Hose
March 24, 2010Toyota has widened its campaign to replace faulty engine oil supply hoses, which may degrade and begin to leak, to more than 217,000 additional vehicles in the United States. That brings the total to more than 934,000. This condition may cause oil to leak from the [Variable Valve Timing with intelligence] oil hose, producing abnormal engine noise and [causing] the oil pressure light to illuminate, Toyota stated. The Toyota City, Japan-based manufacturer termed the voluntary effort a limited se...

AOCA Exec Resigns
March 24, 2010Automotive Oil Change Association executive director David Saddler resigned effective March 2 to pursue other opportunities, and the organization will begin its search for a successor after its annual convention and trade show next month. AOCA Board President Chris Tolsdorf said the group was currently focused on its International Fast Lube Expo, which takes place in Last Vegas in late April. What were doing at the moment is weve got a very capable staff down in Dallas that is keeping things m...

SSY Base Oil Shipping Report
March 24, 2010Demand is still surprisingly robust throughout Europe and the Americas, with only Asia recording a slight deterioration in freights. There is a general view that this situation cannot last, with some observers suggesting that the onset of Q2 pricing and the Easter holidays may apply the brakes and that the number of new ships scheduled for delivery still within this year will wreck the chances of any solid revival. U.S. Gulf of Mexico March space is extremely scarce in the U.S. Gulf. There are...