Lubricants Market Analysis 2020-2027

Lubricant is an organic substance known for its functional properties such as reducing friction between surfaces in mutual contact, prevention from corrosion on machinery parts, heating or cooling the surfaces, thermal stability, and high resistance to corrosion. Lubricants play a major role in the proper functioning of the industrial processes. A lubricant possesses characteristics such as a high boiling point, low freezing point, and a high viscosity index. Typically, lubricants are formulated with 90% base oil and 10% additives. Anti-foaming agents, antioxidants, and viscosity index improvers are the major additives that are used to impart the performance of the lubricants.

Scope of the report

COVID-19 impact analysis

• The suspended movement of heavy-duty and medium-duty vehicles in transport sector as well as in construction and mining sector may affect the market growth in the forecast timeframe. 
• Restriction in vehicle movement during lockdown can lead to insufficiency in raw material supply, thus further hampering the production rate. According to the Economic Times, daily movement of trucks decreased to less than 10% of normal levels. 
• Large dependency on China for crude oil export, one of the major sources to produce mineral oil lubricants is expected to hamper the market growth. 
• According to a report by WorldsTopExports, China accounted for 22.6% of global imported crude oil demand. As the per barrel crude oil price decreased significantly, it will hamper the overall market revenue, thus negatively influencing the market growth for lubricants.
• Delay in key approvals, such as delay in new plant resolution due to travel advisory, currency risks, and subdued demand in emerging countries, such as India, China, and Japan may hinder the growth.

Top impacting factors: market scenario analysis, trends, drivers, and impact analysis

Proliferating demand for lubricants is attributed to the growing application in the automotive sector for emerging economies such as India, china, japan, and Russia. For instance, according to a report by National Investment Promotion, the automobile industry witnessed a steady growth of 14.8% from 2017 to 2018, whereas the automobile exports witnessed a steady growth of around 14.50% in 2019 compared to the previous year. Among regions, the U.S. account for a 20 % consuming rate of total global lubricants, and is the highest consuming country. The automotive sector is growing significantly in countries such as the Middle East, Africa, Japan, and China. The growing application of low viscosity fluids in heavy-duty vehicles as well as in medium-duty vehicles will further fuel the segment growth in the transportation sector. Furthermore, the growing application of grease in industrial machinery and equipment due to its anti-corrosion properties is expected to drive the market growth for the projected timeframe. However, shifting trends toward battery-operated vehicle and fuel cell vehicles may hamper the market growth for conventional vehicles as well as hybrid vehicles, thus negatively influencing the market growth for the lubricants market. With the advancement in technology, the high cost of the battery has declined. All these factors have a huge impact on lubricant market.

Key market trends 

Lubricants are selected on the basis of their characteristics for a better industrial process. Viscosity is the most observed criterion in the selection of the lubricants, stood at the first position. Due to stringent government regulations, industry players are focusing on robust investment to introduce a new lubricant with fewer emission rates and hazardous effects on infants and old people. As the awareness regarding the harmful effects of lubricants is rising, the industry will face some regulations to ensure the quality check of the lubricants before its use. Standardized test methods, grease sampling analysis, and real-time monitoring of the lubricants are some of the steps that the industry will implement before buying the products in the forecast period.

Some surge applications

• Lubricants have a wide operations range. Based on oil type, turbine oil and transfer oil witness high demand in the power generation industry sector. Keeping the generation of power in an optimum demand, wind turbines require turbine oil for its proper functioning. 
• The subsegment of the power industry known as the renewable energy industry is a large consumer of industrial lubricants. This sector has a growth rate of 10%. According to the current analysis of the lubricants market, it has insights into having large staying power, value-based with no performance compromise. 
• Hydraulic oils and few multi-grade oils such as 15W50 are being used in the aircraft sector, which holds the largest market share.
• The engine oil sector will dominate the market with a large usage of combustion engine lubrication.
• Transmission oils have applications in cleaning, increasing rational speed, and improving cooling functions. 
• Gear oil prevents corrosion oil in a manual transmission.

Key market players

Some of the key players working in the lubricants sector are BP PLC, Chevron Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Repsol SA, CONDAT Group, Chevron Group, and others. Royal Dutch shell PLC and Exxon Mobil are the top leading producers of the lubricant market. Moreover, in 2019 the Royal Dutch Shell opened its first lubricant production sector in India. Collaborations and contracts are adopted by major key players to strengthen the position in the market.
 

Key segments covered

Key benefits of the report

• This study presents the analytical depiction of the global lubricants industry along with the current trends and market estimation to determine the imminent investment pockets.
• The report represents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities along with detailed analysis of the global lubricants market share.
• The current market is quantitatively analyzed from 2020 to 2027 to highlight the global lubricant market growth scenario.
• The report provides a detailed market analysis depending on competitive and how the competition will take shape in coming years.
• This reports helps users in comprehending the key product segments and their future.

Questions answered in the global lubricants market research report:

• Which are the leading players active in the global lubricants market?
• What are the current trends that will influence the market in the next few years?
• What are the driving factors, restraints, and opportunities of the market?
• What should be the response of the lubricants market players amid the COVID-19 pandemic?
• What are the projections for the future that would help in taking further strategic steps?
• What is the outlook of the industry?
• What are the emerging key segments in the lubricants market?
• What are the major changes and assessments in market dynamics?