The latest research from the National Lubricating Grease Institute puts China at the top of the grease production list.
The NLGI data, which is provided voluntarily by more than 160 grease producers around the world, showed that 2011 was a record year for grease production with China by far the biggest producer.
In total, almost 2.4 billion pounds of grease was produced by the manufacturers that provided data, a record level, although just one percent higher than the previous year, with China providing 36% of the output at 837 million pounds.
North America held second place at just over half the volume of China, with Europe's 411 million pounds just a little way behind the US in third place. India and Japan made up the top five, according to the research, which was revealed at the NLGI's annual meeting.
In terms of grease-type, Lithium-derived grease continues to take the lions share of the market at 75% of the total volume - equating to 1.8bn pounds of product - and almost the entire output used mineral oil base. Calcium, polyurea and greases accounted for just 10% or less of the thickeners and there is clearly a long way to go when it comes to synthetic or bio-greases, with the latter showing less than 1% of output from bio-base stock.