None of the three main trading regions, U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Europe and Asia really produced anything of note over the past week, with only minor adjustments to freight rates seen on a couple of services. U.S. Gulf of Mexico: The main changes in freight out of the U.S. Gulf are that transatlantic eastbound has come down a few notches, while Gulf to Asia reports a moderate increase. In the case of transatlantic service, there are around six to seven ships currently on berth with partial cargo ...

Immediate opportunity as well as long term corporate strategy prompted Wichita, Kan.-based Universal Lubricants to purchase a used oil collection business in Texas, Midstate Environmental Services. The May 2 acquisition announcement did not disclose financial terms. Universal Lubricants CEO John Wesley acknowledged that some of the used oil collected by Robstown-based Midstate will eventually supply a second rerefinery projected to treat 25 million gallons of feedstock per year. Noting that th...

Infineum announced plans to build a new lubricant additive manufacturing complex in China, subject to approval by its Board of Directors. The size of the proposed investment is confidential, an Infineum spokesman told Lube Report. However, it will represent a substantial investment for Infineum, recognizing this will be a greenfield site development. Board approval of the investment is expected later this year. Infineum signed a letter of intent in late April with Zhangjiagang Industrial Park ...

MOSCOW – Driven by strong demand for premium products, China imported a record 2.7 million tons of base oil last year, continuing a six-year trend during which base oil imports grew by nearly 1.8 million tons. Chinas average annual demand for lubricants and greases grew by 7 percent over the past decade, and is anticipated to grow another 4 percent in the next five years, according to Frank Ye, an analyst at the Beijing consultancy Chem1. In 2011 China consumed 7.1 million tons of lubrica...

Calumet and Fuchs each reported increases in net income and sales during the first quarter, compared to 2011s first quarter. For the quarter ending March 31, Calumet Specialty Products Partners posted net income of $51.9 million, compared to $4.2 million in the year-earlier period. First quarter sales for Indianapolis-headquartered Calumet reached $1.2 billion, compared to $605.2 million in 2011s first quarter. Specialty products sales volumes in the first quarter totaled 41,515 barrels per d...

Lubricants blender and distributor Colorado Petroleum has moved into a new headquarters location in Denver that includes a tank farm with more than 1 million gallons capacity. The cost was not disclosed. The companys new headquarters is a 230,000 square foot building that houses members from all of its departments, including the executive team, sales, finance, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and support. The new facility includes 185,000 square feet of warehouse space, 30,000 gallon ble...

Heritage-Crystal Cleans oil business, including oil collection and rerefining, posted $20 million in sales for the quarter ending March 24, up from $2.6 million in the year-earlier quarter. As a whole, Heritage-Crystal Clean of Elgin, Ill., had $270,000 in net income in the first quarter, on $50.5 million in sales or 2 cents per diluted share. That compared to $338,000 in net income on sales of $28.7 million, or 2 cents per diluted share, in 2011s first quarter. The company did not break outnet...