As reported in JobbersWorld on January 15, 2010, Shell was the first to announce a price increase for finished lubricants in 2010. The company said its prices will increase by up to 8% effective February 22, 2010. According to marketers, for most of Shell's lubricants, this increase equates to $0.36 to $0.38 a gallon on bulk, and $0.44 to $.48 a gallon on packaged lubricant, depending on types.

As expected, the price increase announcements didn't stop here. Others followed and most attributed the increases to the higher cost of raw materials (both additives and base oils).

Chevron - On January 19, 2010, Chevron advised it lubricant marketers it will increase its prices on all lubricating oils, gear lubes and greases by an average of 6 to 10%. The increase is effective March 1, 2010 and said to be driven by the recent rise in the cost of raw materials.

BP/Castrol - Castrol advised its marketers on January 21, 2010 it will increase the price on all passenger car, commercial, and industrial lubricants by up to 8%, effective March 8, 2010.

Now for the independent lubricant manufacturers

Advanced Lubrication Specialties (ALS) - Effective February 15, 2010, ALS announced it will increase lubricant prices by $0.38 a gallon.

Cam2 - Cam2 announced an increase of $0.38 a gallon on bulk and $0.45 a gallon on packaged lubricant effective February 8th.

Chemlube - Chemlube International announced an across the board increase of $0.38 a gallon for its lubricants. This increase is effective February 8, 2010.

Smitty's - On January 21, 2010, Smitty's announced a price increase on Super S, Sureguard, TriStar and all other private label brands. Marketers say this increase means $0.40 a gallon more for bulk effective on orders placed after February 8, 2010. Although packaged lubricants will increase by the same amount, marketers are told this increase goes into effect on February 22. Grease will increase by $0.05 a pound, also effective February 22. As with most other price increase announcements, Smitty's says its increase is due to the higher cost of raw materials.

Zytax, a wholly owned subsidiary of FuelQuest, Inc. and supplier of software solutions for indirect tax determination and compliance, announced today that Maxum Petroleum Inc., a national energy marketer and distributor, has entered into a five-year agreement with Zytax. Maxum, the fastest growing private company in America according to Inc. 500, will deploy the Zytax solution to automate tax compliance and determination, reduce filing complexity, and manage transactions and data. The Zytax solution will support a standard tax and determination process for the $4.9 billion organization.

"Our team recognizes the benefits of automating our tax compliance and determination," said Gerry Molina, CIO of Maxum. "We hope to realize increased efficiencies which will ultimately save our organization time and money. Reallocating these resources will provide our team the opportunity to focus on what they do best."

"FuelQuest is pleased to partner with Maxum to address their excise tax compliance needs as they aggressively grow their fuel distribution network," said Matt Tormollen, president and CEO of FuelQuest. "FuelQuest's Zytax solutions are best in class and simultaneously reduce business risk and the resources necessary to ensure compliance with fuel-related excise taxes."

Maxum Petroleum, Inc., based in Greenwich, CT, is a leading independent energy logistics company that markets and distributes a comprehensive offering of refined petroleum products and services to commercial and industrial customers.

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Zytax, a wholly owned subsidiary of FuelQuest, Inc., supplies strategic software automation solutions for global indirect tax determination and excise motor fuel compliance for the energy industry. Zytax solutions provide complete visibility across the tax organization increasing the ability to track, forecast and report tax obligations while mitigating risk and reducing fines, fees and penalties.

Ashland announced preliminary results for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, the first quarter of its 2010 fiscal year.

Specific to its lubricants business, the company says, Ashland Consumer Markets' sales were $400 million, 3 percent above the December 2008 quarter. Total lubricant volume increased by 22 percent versus an unusually weak prior-year quarter. Same-store sales at Valvoline Instant Oil Change increased 4 percent over the prior year. Gross profit was 33.9 percent of sales in the December 2009 quarter versus 21.8 percent in the year-ago quarter and 35.5 percent in the September 2009 quarter. The sequential reduction was primarily due to higher raw material costs and lower private-label margins, partially offset by higher selling prices beginning in November. While SG&A expenses rose 10 percent over the year-ago quarter, largely the result of higher advertising expenses, SG&A declined 8 percent sequentially. Overall, Consumer Markets' quarterly EBITDA was $76 million, as compared with $28 million in the year-ago quarter, and was slightly less than the $79 million earned in the seasonally stronger September 2009 quarter. EBITDA margins were 19.0 percent and 7.2 percent of sales in the December 2009 and 2008 quarters, respectively. The December 2009 quarter marks the fourth consecutive quarter with EBITDA margins above 18 percent.

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