Four More Price Increases

With nearly all major lubricant manufacturers announcing adjustments, the first round of finished lubricant price increases in 2018 will make its mark in the history books.  The first announcement JobbersWorld reported on came when CAM2 announced on January 12th that it was pushing through a price increase effective February 5th. This was soon followed by Shell and within three days of the first announcement, most lubricant manufacturers also announced with ExxonMobil only seven days after Shell. Importantly, however, although CAM2 was the first to announce, CAM2, Advanced Lubrication Specialties, and Chemlube, with and effective date of February 5th, are the first to move.  A summary of the most recent price increase announcements are shown below and that’s followed by a summary of all finished lubricant price increases JW reported in the first round for 2018.

• Old World announced it will raise finished lubricant prices by 6 to 10%. The increase is effective February 12, 2018. Old World attributes the increase to recent increases in raw material and distribution costs.
• BP Lubricants USA (Castrol) advised its customers of up to 6% price increase on Castrol and BP branded pasenger car, commercial and synthetic lubricants excluding industrial This increase is effective March 12th. BP Lubricants attributes the adjustment to escalation in the costs of base oils, additives, packaging, and transportation.
• CITGO announced a price increase of 5 to 8% for all of its branded and unbranded lubricant products ordered on or after February 23rd. The price adjustment is attributed to industry wide increases in the cost of base oil and additives.
• Petro-Canada advised its customers of up to a 6% lubricant price increase across-the-board, excluding process oils and Purity FG white oils, which will increase $0.10 cents per gallon. This increase is effective February 23rd.

As of today, the list of companies JobbersWorld reported on that have announced lubricant price increases in 2018 is shown below:

ARG Announces Blended Lubricants Team

American Refining Group Inc. Announced the Team that will Lead its Sales of Blended Lubricants

The American Refining Group Inc. Blended Lubes Team comprises (from left)  Mike Greene, Luke Rawding, Todd Cawley and Cody Leatherman.

The American Refining Group announced today that ARG’s customers – existing, new and potential – can turn to this team for all of their blended-lubricant needs. Supported by dozens behind the scenes, the team’s industry knowledge and experience forms the foundation of ARG’s partnership with its customers. The sales team that will move ARG forward to grow and develop business with premium specialty lubricants included:

Todd Cawley Business Manager – Blended Lubricants Todd Cawley will draw on decades of industry experience in working closely with customers and distributors throughout the world to supply them with top-quality blended lubricant products.

Cody Leatherman Product Manager – Base Oils and Blended Lubricants Cody Leatherman began his career seven years ago as a research chemist formulating specialty lubricants. He has supervisory experience in research and development, quality control and technical services. He will focus on aligning products with industry and customer needs, cultivating relationships and conducting industry training for our customers.

Luke Rawding Regional Sales Manager Luke Rawding has more than 12 years of lubricant industry experience specializing in account management and new growth, particularly in production and machining in both the U.S. and Canada. His skills also include product application, inventory management and cost savings.

Mike Greene Focusing on mutually beneficial and logistically advantaged private-label business is Account Specialist Mike Greene. He also heads up ARG’s Kendex® OCTG accounts and many of our export accounts. He holds a master’s degree and nine years of industry experience.

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