Japans sales of base oils used in the production of lubricants fell 0.24 percent in 2015 to 2.4 million kiloliters due to a soft domestic market, according to data released by the countrys Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Sales of base oils – including domestic production and imports – used to make machine lubricants fell the most, 23.2 percent 352,752 kl, while sales of base oils used in gasoline engine oils fell 6.3 percent to 413,777 kl, and sales of stocks used in marine diesel engine oil fell 2.1 percent to 153,560 kl.
However, there was a slight increase in sales of base stocks for for diesel engine oil, up 0.4 percent or 221,158 kl, and the volume of stocks used for other motor vehicle oils rose 13.9 percent to 223,446 kl, helping to slow the decline in total lubricant sales.
Sales of stocks for grease production fell by about 1 percent to 75, 978 kl.Domestic greasesales fell by 3.3 percent to 60,985 kl while imports also fell 21.9 percent to 1,005 kl. A small portion of about 897 kl was exported while the remainder was for producers own consumption and other shipments.