API SN Ballot in Limbo
When API approved the ILSAC GF-5 passenger car engine oil specification in December, approval of the new API SN category in time to launch alongside GF-5 seemed like a foregone conclusion. The reality so far has been different.
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Rosy Outlook for Pale Oils
The potential market for naphthenic base oils will grow by 50 percent, from about 5 million tons in 2010 to 7.5 million tons in 2020, a Nynas executive predicts. Pale oil demand already exceeds production capacity.
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Ford Knocks 3,000-mile Intervals
Ford issued an “automotive maintenance myths” statement March 12 that labels the idea that cars need oil changes every three months or 3,000 miles as a myth, though fast lubes caution that such an interval is still smart for many vehicles driven under severe conditions.
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Lube Packaging Trends to Watch
Cost savings and customer benefits are the drivers behind today’s lubricant packaging trends, but they often conflict. Packaging weights have decreased by 15 to 40 percent in the last decade and there is still room for savings, but one packaging expert predicts more focus on customer benefits like ergonomics, attractiveness and individualization in the future.
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Toyota Replaces Faulty Oil Hose
Toyota has widened its campaign to replace faulty engine oil supply hoses, which may degrade and begin to leak, to more than 217,000 additional vehicles in the United States. That brings the total to more than 934,000.
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AOCA Exec Resigns
Automotive Oil Change Association executive director David Saddler resigned effective March 2 to “pursue other opportunities,” and the organization will begin its search for a successor after its annual convention and trade show next month.
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U.S. Base Oil Price Report
Valero has joined the latest round of paraffinic price hikes, raising its postings 17 cents to 20 cents per gallon, and San Joaquin Refining announced that its naphthenic oils will go up 15 cents per gallon across the board.
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Europe-MidEast-Africa Base Oil Price Report
The EMEA base oil market is bullish, with producers and sellers all trying to optimise their pricing opportunities. Contracted buyers are facing increases from 1 April from almost all suppliers.
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SSY Base Oil Shipping Report
Demand is still surprisingly robust throughout Europe and the Americas, with only Asia recording a slight deterioration in freights. There is a general view that this situation cannot last; the number of new ships still scheduled for delivery this year may wreck the chances of any solid revival.
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