2. Over the past five years, greater internet penetration among the region’s populations has brought about a tremendous growth in online retail usage, wherein lubricant marketers are finding a viable retail platform.
INDUSTRIAL LUBRICANTS MARKET TRENDS
1. The industry is evolving from a product development perspective. Globally, there is a greater emphasis on adopting sustainable strategies to reduce carbon footprint and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
2. Emphasis on bio-based product development has changed the way in which companies are investing in lubricant R&D.
BIOLUBRICANTS DEVELOPMENT & INNOVATION
1. University of Northern Iowa’s Ag-Based Industrial Lubricants (ABIL) Research Program has licensed 16 formulated lubricants, greases, and base oils made of high oleic soybeans that have been genetically enhanced for stability.
2. These products meet and exceed industry requirements, and many do not cost much more than their petroleum counterparts. If these products can compete in performance and price, their environmental benefits will make them even more appealing to users.
3. Due to their benefits, they will be more prevalent in applications where environmental and safety concerns are high, and less prevalent where petroleum products offer price and performance beyond those possible by bio-based products.
4. At the Institute of Science & Technology for Advanced Studies & Research (ISTAR), researchers have successfully modified Karanja Oil (a non-traditional vegetable oil) into biolubricants. The oil was first chemically modified through gas chromatography to study two main types of lubricants, i.e., lube oils and greases
5. One particular concern in the development route is that vegetable oils, if left untreated, lack oxidative stability, which in turn affects performance of the lube oils. Cases as stated above are absolutely crucial for commercialization of biolubricants produced through vegetable oil.
6. The consistent increase in R&D activities to develop improved bio-based lubricants and rising demand and usage of soybean and palm oil as raw materials will offer numerous opportunities for the growth of the global bio-based lubricants market.
7. Major oil companies in the space, such as Total, Shell, BP and ExxonMobil, are actively investing in R&D activities aimed at such development; since 2010, Total has doubled its R&D budget, across its two centers in Lyon, France, and Mumbai, India. The company, in 2014, filed 14 patents, and through 2010 to 2017, their average filings have averaged at five per year.
8. Companies in the lubricants industry have been redefining their supply chains from procurement of raw materials to customer delivery, including refining supply agreements to reduce costs, as well as radical shifts in customer delivery tools.
ASIAN MARKETS AND GLOBAL GROWTH RATE
1. Economic stability and consistent growth in industrial output has put Asian markets on the global map, with demand for materials, oils, and energy on the constant rise.
2. Such trends also have attracted western business entities to aggressively market their offerings to these countries, where on a parallel level, domestic companies aggressively expanded their operations to build upon the market expansion.
3. Such shift in competitive dynamics has established Asian markets, primarily South and Southeast Asian economies, as a converging point for companies globally. This is also evident in comparatively lower lubricant prices, and increasing offerings in the region.
4. As per the analysis by Grand View Research, India’s industrial lubricant demand is projected to grow at a CAGR (2016-2024) of 4.3 percent, against a global growth rate of 3.0 percent.
5. Since 2012, the country’s GDP grew at an average of 6.9 percent, with industrial production growing at an average of 4.5 percent.
6. Though these economic indicators suggest a robust demand for lubricants in the country, future growth is expected to be driven by lube oil demand in food processing, chemicals, energy, oil & gas, and textiles.
REGULATIONS INFLUENCING LUBRICANT PACKAGING AND SPECIFICATION STANDARDS
1. Recent developments in the regulatory arena of the industry include U.S. EPA’s revision of Lubricants Group Standards in 2017. The updated mandate requires changes in lubricants’ labeling, advertising, packaging, disposal, supply, storage, and use.
2. Conversely, European Union has undertaken an initiative, known as European Commission’s Cumulative Cost Assessment (EC’s CCA), which aims to bring down the cost of regulations by eliminating redundant legislative texts and acts, and improve upon existing standards.
3. As per the EC’s CCA, nearly 48 percent of the value added to products through regulations is concerned with emissions and industrial process legislations.
4. The mandate undertaken by EU aspires to bring down such costs, and allow European companies to be more competitive with respect to pricing in global markets, and nurture a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem in the region.
SUSTAINABLE DRIVING FORCES
1. Eco-friendly industrial lubricants has been a niche trend, but now these alternatives, extracted from vegetable oils, are observed to be growing significantly as a strategic attempt to minimize environmental pollution.
2. At low temperature, low viscosity lubricants enhance an engine’s performance by improving on ignition as well as consumption of less fuel. Selecting an oil for certain engine types depends on the viscosity of the lubricants.
3. Multiple transportation companies prefer using low-viscosity lubricants, due to lesser flow resistance, which reduce friction and energy losses more than typical synthetic lubricants. This improves engine’s life and performance. Apart from automobile applications, these lubricants are also preferred for wind turbine applications for comparatively smoother functioning of bearings in massive gear shifter components.
4. Lubricants demand in the food processing industry is estimated to grow due to three significant industry drivers, which includes a switch towards automatic lubrication systems, a shift towards smart factories, and low crude oil prices.
5. The growth across Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC nations) has been notable in the past five years, with China accounting for around 43.9 percent of the overall GDP in 2013.
6. Demand for industrial lubricants in energy, agriculture, chemicals, steel and other sectors drive growth. Industrial production in other markets such as Brazil, Russia, and India was USD 498.81 billion, USD 512.31 billion, and USD 470.29 billion in 2013 respectively.
7. Following China, industrial production in India witnessed growth at 3.2 percent in 2015. Industrial output in India stood at 25.8 percent of GDP in 2013. Industrial output in all of BRICS was USD 4,046.71 billion in 2008 and it grew to USD 5,598.81 billion by 2013.
MARKET OVERVIEW
1. As per Grand View Research, the global industrial lubricants market is anticipated to be driven by growing end-use industries including chemicals manufacturing, food processing, and electronics particularly in Asia Pacific.
2. Increasing demand for higher efficiency, sustainability and lower maintenance downtime of industrial equipment has led to high demand for these lubricants.
3. Rising demand for a range of manufactured finished goods along with the subsequent need to expand production capabilities has compelled manufacturers to rely on machinery to automate their production process and processing activity.
4. Keeping machinery functioning smoothly, and preventing equipment failure with appropriate lubrication are expected to be the key driving factors for industrial lubricants over the forecast period.
(Source: https://knowledge.ulprospector.com/8860/lmf-how-the-industrial-lubricants-market-is-evolving/ , https://knowledge.ulprospector.com/8533/lmf-sustainable-industrial-lubricants-market/)
