JOBBERSWORLD...MARKET INTELLIGENCE FOR INTELLIGENT MARKETERS...          

Add BP/Castrol to the list of lubricant suppliers announcing a price decrease.  

BP/Castrol marketers in the US got the word yesterday that BP will reduce list prices on selected Consumer and Commercial Automotive lubricants and ancillary products effective January 14, 2013. The price decreases will range from $0.12 to $0.24 a gallon.  

For those who may have missed it in the November 19th issue of JobbersWorld, Phillips 66 was first move. On November 9, 2012, Phillips 66 announced that effective November 12, 2012 it will decrease prices for most finished lubricants by $0.30 a gallon, and $0.02 a pound on grease. Products exempt from this decrease include certain fully synthetic HDEO, ATF, gear oils and industrial lubricants, as well as private label products.

This was followed by an announcement by Chevron of a general posted price decrease for its lubricants, gear oils and greases by up to 4% for most SKU's. The effective date of this decrease is December 10, 2012. It should be noted that commercial and Industrial synthetic products, coolants and fuel additives are excluded from the decrease.

These decreases are followed by CITGO announcing it will implement a finished lubricant price decrease for marketers in the CITGO, MileMaster and Mystik brands. This decrease, which takes effect December 16, will average $0.30 a gallon on lubricants and $0.02 a pound on grease. This decrease, however, does not include CLARION white oils, water glycol products and process oils.

In addition to the majors, Amalie announced, that with the exception of its Greased Lightning branded automotive chemicals, Amalie Oil Company will reduce the price for all its oils and chemicals, that are shipped on or after November 26, 2012, by $0.32 per gallon. In addition, it will reduce grease prices by $0.04 a pound.    

In a joint effort with Allison Transmission to meet the growing global demand for heavy duty automatic transmissions, Shell Lubricants has introduced Shell Spirax® S6 ATF A295 synthetic automatic transmission fluid.  The new lubricant is approved against Allison's stringent TES-295 specification for extended warranty and extended drain intervals.

According to Shell, Spirax® S6 ATF A295 can be relied on to last up to 300,000 miles under normal conditions or 150,000 miles under severe conditions without risk to the transmission components or warranty.  Shell Spirax S6 ATF A295 enables vehicles to go to the maximum oil-drain intervals allowed by Allison with the confidence that the transmission components are protected. 

"Shell Lubricants worked extensively with Allison in the development of Shell Spirax® S6 ATF A295," said Stede Granger, OEM technical manager, Shell Lubricants. "Through this process, it became clear that Spirax S6 ATF A295 is more than just a lubricant it is also a key component of the transmission."

Shell says, Spirax S6 ATF A295 far outperforms conventional type automatic transmission fluids in Allison transmissions. The transmission fluid underwent an extra-long duration test by Allison engineers and was approved for the Allison extended oil-drain recommendations for up to 300,000 miles.

"Spirax S6 ATF A295 has undergone the complete battery of TES-295 testing and Allison is pleased to confirm its full acceptance" said Dennis Breedlove, Director Aftermarket Programs.  "Through this certification, users can be assured of superior performance and lower cost of ownership versus conventional fluids."

The Work Center, combined with OilSafe transfer containers and visually intuitive color coding and labeling, helps eliminate spills and slowdowns while preventing mix-ups and cross-contamination. As a result, plants can employ lubrication best practice with a complete system that covers the entire process loop and works with any existing maintenance process.

"Our OilSafe transfer containers and labels have long been the industry standard to reduce contamination and spills. We recognized a need in the market to add bulk storage and dispensing to create a fully integrated system for managing lubrication from delivery to point of application," said John Gillian, chief executive officer for Fluid Defense.

Alternate solutions may require working with multiple vendors or figuring out how to fit together multiple products, but the OilSafe Visual Lubrication Management System is simple to implement and easy to understand throughout the plant floor.

"We are proud to introduce the OilSafe Work Center as a safe and reliable solution that helps companies instantly establish best practice on the plant floor and prevent the inefficiencies, downtime and lost production that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars," Gillian added.

OilSafe says its Work Center has been successfully implemented in applications such as manufacturing, mining, food and beverage, defense and more. Available in multiple configurations, each system is customizable to suit the application and budget.