Asian and American automakers have sent an official request to the American Petroleum Institute, urging that it create “as soon as possible” a supplement to the existing ILSAC GF-5 standard for gasoline-fueled engine oils. The automakers say a “GF-5 Plus” supplement would immediately beef up the existing specification by measuring how well oils protect engines from low-speed pre-ignition.

Members of the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association want to continue pioneering lower-viscosity oils by developing a specification for SAE 0W-8 engine oils by April 2019 for the country’s passenger vehicle market

The Japanese Automotive Standards Organization revised its diesel engine oil standard, JASO M355, to include a new fuel economy category for heavy-duty oils as well as a new light-duty category to replace API's retired CF-4.

China produces almost as much grease as North America and Europe combined, and the rest of Asia collectively churns out more than each of those Western regions, according to this year’s production report from the National Lubricating Grease Institute.

French oil giant Total Lubricants opened a grease production plant in Tianjin, China, Friday – its first in the Asia-Pacific region.

Quaker Chemical announced last week an agreement to acquire Houghton International, a deal that will combine two of the world’s largest suppliers of metalworking fluids.