A U.S. appeals court last week denied a motion by the Independent Lubricant Manufacturers Association and three other groups to join a lawsuit in which unions complained that the federal government has failed to protect factory workers from metalworking fluid mist. The case is scheduled to be heard in Philadelphia Jan. 9. The United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers of America filed the case against Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao Oct. 21. Their case asks that the Occupational Safety and Healt...

A new consultants report predicts the North American lubricant industry will face a shortage of Group II base stocks within four years. As a result, it says, some independent lube manufacturers could end up locked out of automotive lubricant markets. The study, Business Opportunities in Lubricant Base Stocks – North America, was conducted by Petroleum Trends International Inc., of Metuchen, N.J., which announced its conclusions yesterday. The firm said market forces should balance supply a...

Thanks to changing lubricant standards, two new studies say, the wax industry is expected to continue losing traditional sources of supply, even as demand for wax products grows at a healthy clip. Fortunately for manufacturers of wax products, the void is being filled by wax from China, with gas-to-liquids technology expected to provide reinforcement in the future. The studies were released this month by Kline and Co., of Little Falls, N.J., and Freedonia Group Inc., of Cleveland. The Kline repo...