Each summer for the past decade, our readers have eagerly awaited the arrival of the newest LubesnGreases Lubricants Industry Factbook, polybagged with their August issue. This annual resource contains statistics, trends and outlooks for base oils, finished lubricants and additives, among other topics that you ask our editors about most often.
The tenth edition of the Factbook highlights some worldwide engine oil trends for industry players to keep an eye on. Notably, Infineum expects that most cars in the tide of electrified vehicles rolling in through 2024 will still include internal combustion engines. And consultancy Kline & Co. points out that those vehicles require low-viscosity synthetic engine oils.
Another significant industry development: Consumers are opting to buy engine oils online rather than driving to a store, a trend that Kline says is especially strong in the Chinese market. In the United States-which saw retailers sell nearly $2.7 billion of motor oil in the year ending May 2018, according to market research firm NPD Group-online sales of engines oils jumped more than 37 percent in dollars year over year, with Amazon.com being the retailer of choice.
The 2018-2019 Factbook is being mailed to print and digital subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, as well as international paid subscribers. Additional copies in print and downloadable PDF form can be purchased at www.LNGFactbook.com.
Managing Editor Caitlin Jacobs and Director of Creative Ricardo Lianez put this years Factbook together, with assistance from editors Kiara Candelaria and Michele Persaud. We would like to extend our gratitude to the industry experts who provided data and to our advertisers who made it possible to deliver this invaluable resource to our readers.
Howard Briskin
HBriskin@LubesnGreases.com