Sector Reports
The IMF take a brave step with a report on the end of the recession, Kline reports on global basestocks and an interesting view on EROEI head this month's reports.
 Olivier Blanchard, IMF |
The International Monetary Fund's Economic Counsellor and Research Director, Olivier Blanchard, has taken a timely step in publishing a paper indicating that, in his view, global financial recovery has started. However the report, "Sustaining a Global Recovery", makes it clear that the journey ahead will be long and delicate.
Meanwhile more details emerged from Kline's Global Basestock Report 2008-18, where Group l producers appear to face the toughest challenge. As reported in OEM/Lube News, Kline reported a 6% global surplus in Group l base stocks as opposed to Group ll+ which showed a 54% surplus in 2008. The decline was blamed on the reduction in use of Group l oils in automotive formulations with Group l plants continuing to close.
The balance of stocks is mixed across the globe, with Asia and the Pacific showing a shortage in Group l stocks only, while Western Europe showed a completely reversed position.
The reduction in Group l producers has had a knock-on effect on supplies of bright and neutral stocks as well as slack wax - by-products generally only produced by Group l plants. The limited supplies have led to increased prices, making Group l production financially attractive for the remaining operations. The challenge was highlighted as far back as June by Kline's Energy VP, Geeta Agashe.
Independent researcher Dolores Garcia followed up her New World Model research on the energy output and reserves with a more detailed explanation of her model of Energy Returned On Energy Invested (EROEI). The report makes interesting reading as it further explains her views on the balance between fossil fuels and renewables.
And finally two new sets of reports are available on the crude oil and trucking sectors. The first is published by Global Markets Direct and is their examination of the future of the crude oil industry to 2015. And Transport Topics Online have released their Top 100 global listings of For-hire and Private Carriers in the trucking industry. Highlights put UPS and Fed-Ex at the top of the hire companies, and Coca Cola and Sysco Systems as the carrier leaders.