The legacy of lower crude and feedstocks pricing continues to gnaw away at the shipping market. China in particular has decided it has adequate inventory and has cut back on further imports, and the other markets such as Europe and the U.S. are now trying to adjust. U.S. Gulf It has been a quiet week along the U.S. Gulf to Far East route, partly because of the lack of interest from Asian buyers but also because the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers annual meeting is about to commence...

After picking up at the start of this decade, the penetration of synthetic lubricants in Russia suffered a setback in 2014. Since then the popularity of those products has begun to recover, and industry insiders say it should grow going forward. Demand for synthetics as a portion of total Russian lube demand, including process oils, peaked in 2013 at 27 percent, according to Kline & Co. consultancy. That was still significantly behind mature markets such as Western Europe, where synthetics ...

The total value and number of quarts of motor oil sold in the U.S. automotive aftermarket industry increased 1 percent in 2016, according to retail sales data tracked by NPD Group. Nathan Shipley, director and automotive aftermarket industry analyst for NPD Group, observed that conventional motor oil continues to decline in sales, while full synthetic and high mileage products continue to grow. The biggest story this year when talking about growth comes from the area known as high mileage, full ...

Five government agencies recently joined hands in an effort to curb illegal lubricant trading in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The group, which was also assisted by state-owned Emirates National Oil Co., is trying to root out engine oils that do not meet the recently adopted minimum standards, API SL and API CH-4. The standards were an update to the nations technical requirements for engine oils. SL was adopted by United States-based American Petroleum Institute for gasoline-powered passenger car...

Fuchs new factory in Chicago will produce 29 different specialty greases, and its new plant near Johannesburg, South Africa, will produce a diverse range of greases starting in summer of 2017, according to the companys 2016 annual report. The report said the completed Chicago factory, which is located in the citys Harvey district, is scheduled to open in the first half of 2017 and will produce greases as part of the companys 3C commitment to offer identical grease for original equipment manufact...