U.S. lubricant sales volumes for 2008s fourth quarter fell by more than 25 percent compared to the year-earlier period, according to the latest sales data released by the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. The ripple effects from decreased automotive manufacturing and car buying are likely causes, said an industry analyst. The NPRAs Quarterly Index of Lubricant Sales, released March 10, showed volumes in retreat across all sectors compared to a year earlier, with the largest decli...

Sunoco on Friday said it will cut about 750 positions in 2009 as part of an effort to reduce costs by more than $300 million on an annualized basis by years end. The Philadelphia-based company said the job cuts are part of the first phase of its Business Improvement Initiative. The first phase of the review included all business operations and support functions at the Philadelphia and Marcus Hook refineries. The 750 positions is from our salaried workforce and represents about 20 percent of th...

Russian lubricant giant LukOil announced last week a three-year agreement to supply industrial lubricants to Novolipetsk Steel. LukOil called the deal another step in its efforts to build its lubes business. This is our strategy – to enter supply agreements with large, key customers, a LukOil spokesman said. For one thing, the plant will consume a significant volume of lubricants. Secondly, it assists us in planning because it is a three-year contract. At the same time, the agreement call...

Greater availability of high performance lubricants will contribute to reduced or negative growth in lubricant demand in many of the worlds more developed countries in the coming years, according to World Lubricants, a new study from Cleveland-based market research firm Freedonia Group. Freedonia expects North America, Japan and Western Europe, as well as the European Union member countries in Eastern Europe, to experience reduced or negative growth in lubricant demand due to the greater availa...

Ciba has opened a new technology service center in Shanghai to serve the process and lubricants additives industry in China. The companys acquisition by BASF last week also received European Commission approval, though approval by U.S. authorities is still pending. The new center in Shanghai can perform key tests required for lubricant customers, including thermo-oxidative, wear and corrosion tests. The facility can also perform a full range of testing to support market entry of Cibas Irgaflo p...

For the first time in seven or eight months, freight levels from Europe to Asia are now higher than those from Asia to Europe. The fronthaul route has been relegated to the backhaul, and the same is about to occur on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to Asia route too. Chemical demand from Asia, in particular China, is driving it all. Other routes have had a less dramatic week, but there is a feeling that the space situation is not quite as desperate as before across many areas. U.S. Gulf of MexicoHeavy ...