Two of the leading independent lubricant manufacturers announced price increases on Monday. The first to move was Smitty's Supply. Smitty's advised its marketers that effective July 27, 2009 the price of its Super S, Sureguard, TriStar and all other private label brands (in bulk and packaged) will increase by $0.40 a gallon. At the same time, its grease prices will increase by $0.05 a pound.

Smitty's attributed the price increase to the higher price of raw materials.

Warren Oil Company, Inc, arguably the largest independent lubricant manufacturer in the United States, announced a similar price increase on its finished lubricants on Monday as well.

These price increases have many marketers asking the same questions; WHY and Will the majors move?

The easy question to answer is WHY? As Smitty's and Warren said, it's due to the higher cost of raw materials. And in JobbersWorld's view, it should be no surprise that when some independent lubricant manufacturers are reportedly selling PCEO for under $3.30 a gallon in bulk (paper-thin margins), something has to give when the price of base oil moves up $0.20 to over $0.35 a gallon.

Now the big question is, will the majors move? With demand for lubricants still significantly down from last year, it will be interesting to see if the majors are willing to see their margins compressed in an effort to retain, and in some cases, regain business.

On July 9, 2009, ExxonMobil announced it will increase the bulk wholesale price of selected lubricant base stocks from $0.10 to $0.35 a gallon, as shown below:

• Americas Core 100, up $0.26
• Americas Core 150, up $0.35
• Americas 330, up $0.25
• Americas Core 600, up $0.30
• Americas Core 2500, up $0.10
• EHC 45 and 60, up $0.20

PetroCard, a leading fuels and lubrication distributor in the Pacific Northwest, announced the acquisition of Estacada Oil and Northwest Petroleum. The acquisitions allow PetroCard to extend its lubricant distribution service area into northern and central Oregon as well as offer new services to its existing customers in Washington state and Idaho. Estacada Oil's bulk fueling and cardlock services are now part of the PetroCard network and Northwest Petroleum's expertise in commercial and industrial lubrication products will be integrated into PetroCard's existing operations.

Estacada Oil and Northwest Petroleum were owned and operated by John and Karmen Bresko, who have completely divested their financial interest in the two companies as they move into retirement. All current Estacada/Northwest Petroleum employees will remain employed by PetroCard in order to continue the high level of service current customers have grown to know and appreciate. Both Estacada Oil and Northwest Petroleum will now operate under the PetroCard brand name.

"The people and products of Estacada Oil and Northwest Petroleum are the perfect complement to our current fuel and lubrication distribution services throughout the region," said Steve Tolton, CEO of PetroCard.

PetroCard Systems currently sells lubricants to many different classes of trades such as retail chains, wholesale operations, automotive installers, commercial and heavy-duty fleets out of its two offices located in Arlington and Spokane Washington and now Clackamas Oregon. PetroCard is the largest ExxonMobil distributor in Washington state. In addition to lubricants, PetroCard also offers fuel services primarily via three methods: "cardlocks" or unattended, self-serve fueling stations, delivering to bulk fuel tanks, either unbranded or branded fuel and via "Mobile Fueling" services, in which commercial vehicles parked at depots or other lots are fueled overnight or when not in use. PetroCard is one of the largest cardlock operators in the Pacific Northwest.

ConocoPhillips Company announced two significant upgrades to its turbine oil product line, a tri-branded offering featuring the Conoco, 76 Lubricants and Phillips 66 brand imagery. To address increasing performance demands on modern turbines and provide a proactive solution to new cleanliness and varnish concerns, ConocoPhillips Lubricants enhanced its baseline Turbine Oil to offer a TOST (Turbine Oil Stability Test - ASTM D943) rating of 15,000 hours as opposed to the previous 7,500 hours. Simultaneously, ConocoPhillips Lubricants introduced Ultra-Clean Turbine Oil featuring a guaranteed cleanliness level of ISO 18/16/13 and a TOST rating of 15,000 hours. These two new oils join best-in-class Diamond Class Turbine Oil in a comprehensive line that addresses the needs of industrial turbine operations, according to Tim Langlais, director of industrial products.

"Greater demands on the power grid have altered the operational profile of industrial turbines, creating the need for turbine oils that better address growing varnish and cleanliness concerns," explains Langlais. "Power trips due to varnish formation can result in costly, unplanned downtime. ConocoPhillips Lubricants is raising the bar on cleanliness, oxidation control, varnish resistance and service levels to help our customers improve reliability in industrial turbines."

The new ConocoPhillips Lubricants tri-branded turbine oil product line includes:

• Turbine Oil: This upgraded version of the existing product now offers a TOST rating of 15,000 hours, and is ideal for customers operating steam, geothermal and hydroelectric turbines that are less sensitive to issues surrounding oil cleanliness.
• Ultra-Clean Turbine Oil: This new oil is specifically designated for application in gas and steam turbines and is rated at 15,000 hours TOST life. Additionally, this oil is delivered at a guaranteed cleanliness rating of 18/16/13. Ultra-Clean Turbine Oil best serves customers concerned with oil cleanliness whose scheduled drain interval is fixed at 15,000 hours or less.
• Diamond Class Turbine Oil: This best-in-class product is designed for use in direct drive gas, combined-cycle and co-generation gas turbines. Rated at an impressive 35,000 hours TOST life, Diamond Class Turbine Oil is ideal for customers who want it all - documented varnish control, guaranteed cleanliness rating of 18/16/13 and maximum drain intervals.

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