Lubricant Industry Update April 2021

15th April 2021

Over the last 6 to 8 weeks we have been advised of price increases from nearly all of the brands and manufacturers that we work with and are also expecting to receive further increases over the next few months based on a global shortage of raw materials such as base oil stocks and additives, coupled with the impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 Global Pandemic. As always, TrAchem will look to minimise the impact of any price increase to our customers however, in these unprecedented times, we unfortunately have to pass these increases on.

In addition to the increased price of finished lubricants, we are also experiencing lengthy lead times to bring non-stocked items into the country, so I ask that you please bear this in mind with any orders you may need to place.

Some of the contributing factors include; many refineries being closed, or running at reduced capacity due to the Covid-19 pandemic; a drop in demand for fuel throughout 2020 means synthetic lubricants (manufactured from the by-products of the fuel refining process) are in short supply; some manufacturers of base stocks have declared force-majeure and are limiting supply; supply of base oil stocks, such as minerals, PAOs, esters, silicones, PAGs and PFPEs are all affected; one of the main PAO plants in Belgium shut down for maintenance in March and is not expected to reopen until the end of this month.

We have had to take the difficult decision to reduce our pricing validity to 7 days from date of quotation as this is the only notification we are receiving from most suppliers. In many cases, products are being priced on a daily basis to allow the manufacturer to react to an ever changing landscape. We will be happy to work with you to increase stock holding of your regular products which can help to secure stock at current price levels as well as keeping the lead times to a minimum.

Please speak to our team here to discuss anything you require.