Brazil’s lube market rebounds
Jul 31, 2019
An unexpected shift in Brazil’s lubricants demand has occurred after four consecutive years of major declines. The 5% increase (equating to a 399,000-metric ton demand) for the first four months of 2019 can be attributed to the increases in sales of automobiles, auto parts and agricultural machinery.
Lubes em Foco Editor Pedro Nelson Belmiro presented on the nation’s recent rebound during the Meet the Market South America Conference last month. According to the report, “the Brazilian lubricants market recovered in 2018, growing 1.9 percent in sales volume, after shrinking a cumulative 16.2 percent the previous four years.”
Although this is encouraging news from a finished lubes perspective, Brazil’s base oil output remains an ongoing concern. The country will likely continue importing base stock from major suppliers like the U.S., Malaysia and South Korea to keep up with automobile fluid markets.
To learn more how this will influence the global market landscape, read the recent Lubes n’ Greases article here.
Why should you care?
This major South America player impacts the way the rest of the world does business. It’s vital to stay in tune with these regional trends to better understand the global industry landscape.
