No region is very active presently. Prospects are rosier in the U.S. than in Europe, but both these markets look better than Asia right now. U.S. Gulf Demand to the Far East has been gradually building over the past week or so, but the amount of open tonnage is increasing too, with several ships that need to be repositioned back to Asia making an appearance. Rates are, therefore, under pressure, with 5,000-ton parcels from Houston, U.S. to Korea seeing levels between $52 and $55 per metric ton. ...

Engine tests are the most expensive and time-consuming parts of engine oil specifications, so its no surprise that developers take time to consider how well those tests serve their purpose and whether any of them can or should be eliminated. Such questions are being raised now as part of the industrys review of the newest heavy-duty diesel engine oil categories, API FA-4 and CK-4, which were launched in December. There appears to be significant sentiment that some tests should be retired either ...

Valvoline and Citgo informed U.S. customers of upcoming finished lubricant price increases that take place in mid-May and early June. Valvoline is marking up branded finished lubes by up to 4 percent effective June 1, while Citgo is imposing a hike of 4 percent to 6 percent on branded and private label products effective May 15. Other marketers that have informed customers about finished lubricant price increase in recent weeks have included Shell, Phillips 66, ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP Castrol, C...

STUTTGART, Germany – Lubricant marketers could face disruptions to the ways they do business in coming years due to growing popularity of electric vehicles, adoption of new manufacturing materials and the rise of new businesses that leverage information technology to muscle in on marketers expertise, an industry insider said earlier this month. Speaking to the Uniti Mineralol Technology Forum here April 5, Fuchs Petrolub SE Chief Technology Officer Lutz Lindemann predicted that global lubr...

Valvoline reported increased operating income, while operating profits were down for South Korean base oil refiners SK Lubricants and S-Oil for the quarter ended in March, compared to a year earlier. Valvoline Valvoline Inc. posted operating income of $117 million for its three operating segments – North America, quick lubes and international – for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, up 12.5 percent from $104 million in the year-earlier period. The three segments posted total sales of...

ATIEL, the European lubricant industrys technical association, released a new compliance policy to support lubricant marketers that make valid performance claims against ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association) Oil Sequences, for which compliance with the European Engine Lubricant Quality Management System is required. The policy seeks to encourage greater compliance across the industry through continuous monitoring of automotive engine lubricant quality in the market and the exchang...