China's may soon surpass the US in specialist machine lubricants consumption; new rules may cause Euro problems.
The shift may happen as early as the end of 2015, despite a slowdown in the industrial sector, according to investment analysts CN Gold. While the industry has slowed, adoption of highly specialized machinery that require higher quality lubricants has increased, buoying the market.
Data also suggests the demand for all lubricants will surpass the US by as early as 2020, driven largely by demand for engine oils.
However, the increase in specialized machine lubricants will benefit some more than others. Smaller producers, unable to compete with the R&D spending of their larger rivals, may be squeezed out or the market, leading to an increase in industry consolidation.
Meanwhile, imminent changes to metals legislation in European could have a significant impact on the lubes market for metal removal fluids, according to Lube Report. The new laws, affecting the levels of lead used in steel, aluminium and copper alloys, could mean a dramatic change in the way precision-machined parts are cut which, in turn, will require more sophisticated lubricants during the cutting process.
Reporting on the 5th International Conference on Metal Removal Fluids, Lube Report noted that the new EU legislation could have a global impact, not least in the US where the supply of European alloys to US machine shops and the sale of precision cut metal parts back to the region could both be affected. Reducing lead in alloys means increasing the hardness of the metal, making it more difficult to cut with higher resulting temperatures.