California Fuel Tax Set to Increase July 1st A tax increase on motor vehicle and diesel fuels is coming to the state of California, effective July 1st, 2019. According to a special notice issued by the state of California’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration, “The prepayment rate for each... Read More +
Rising Costs of Raw Materials Spur Second Price Increase Last week we published a notification alerting our customers to a pending 6% increase in price based on the rising cost of raw materials. Over the past week, however, most major oil suppliers announced an unexpected additional price increase from 6%... Read More +
New Innovations in Secondary Containment Systems California is tough on waste management, and secondary containment systems are often an essential part of a compliant spill prevention protocol. Title 22, referring to waste generation, is an official code of regulations within the state of California that outlines specific parameters for properly... Read More +
Price Increase Scheduled for Finished Lubricants – May 6, 2019 With increases in the cost of raw materials, rising freight costs and overall market fluctuations that affect manufactures, and the processing and delivery of finished products, a 6% finished lubricants price increase will go into effect on May 6th. In... Read More +
Fluid Analysis – The Next Generation of Sample Submission - Most oil analysis labs do not have your original equipment manufacturer (OEM) information and specific fluid information on file, which can lead to inaccuracy in a customer's overall trending analysis. Fluid analysis data results can become flawed when the appropriate wear limits are not put in place...
Pulling an Oil Sample - Proper Techniques for Maximum Results - One of the best ways that you can monitor the health and efficiency of your fleet is to implement regularly scheduled oil analysis as part of your preventative maintenance schedule. Oil analysis gives you a benchmark of the internal conditions within your equipment that you can then monitor over time to make any necessary adjustments...
Oil Sample Turnaround - Why a Rapid Return is Important - Like the blood pumping through our veins, lubricating oil is the lifeblood or plasma within our vehicles and equipment. Without, they would come to a grinding halt - literally. As you can imagine...
Oil and Water - Never a Good Combo for Engines or Equipment - With unprecedented moisture levels across the state of California thus far in 2019, it is important to stay on top of safeguarding your lubricant products from rainwater contamination and condensation...
How Will Gavin Newsom Manage CA’s Energy Sector - On January 7th, 2019, Jerry Brown stepped aside to hand over the reigns to a new governor elect for the state of California – Gavin Newsom. Newsom, a member of the Democratic party, previously served as the lieutenant governor of California under Brown...
Liquid Urea vs Prill Form and the Cost of DEF When it comes to the manufacture of diesel exhaust fluid, or DEF, whether the urea content begins in liquid solution or solid prill form can impact the cost of manufacture and ultimately the price of the finished product. DEF is... Read More +
January 2020 Deadline Looms – Maritime Industry Prepares Less than one year from now, the soft rollout of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) January 2020 sulphur cap regulation will go into full effect. The IMO is responsible for the safe management and environmental stewardship of the shipping industry, and the... Read More +
The Changing Face of China’s Economy Made in China – The ubiquitous label you find on everything from clothing to kitchenware, toys to sports equipment may be shifting. While the United States occupies the top slot as the largest economy in the world, China is a close contender, and in 2016,... Read More +
Holiday Trucking and the Holidays It has been said that the trucking industry is the life blood of the U.S. economy, moving more goods and services across the north American continent than one can even imagine. There are times throughout the year when demand for transport via trucking dramatically spikes... Read More +
Extreme Temperatures Are Your Car Battery’s Worst Nightmare It’s a commonly held belief that high summer temperatures are to blame for lowered performance in car batteries or even a full battery drain with air conditioning units running at full throttle. That may not actually be the case, however, since lower... Read More +
SCR Systems Installed Aboard Ocean Going Vessels In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency began implementing emission regulations for the maritime industry by requiring selective catalytic reductions (SCR) systems and the use of marine urea and diesel exhaust fluid (maritime DEF). Initially, the EPA sought to impact emission levels by focusing... Read More +
With Midterm Elections Over, Where Do We Go From Here? On November 6th, Californians voted against Proposition 6, a constitutional amendment that would have eliminated a fuel-related tax designated for road repair and transportation infrastructure. Prop 6 aimed to repeal the gas tax that went into effect November 2017, which... Read More +
How to Protect Yourself at the Pump This Holiday Season According to Crime Prevention Security Systems, “Police reports indicate theft and property crime rates increase during the holiday season – particularly between Thanksgiving and the new year. Consumers generally walk around with more cash, credit cards, and gift cards in... Read More +
The Craft Brew Industry is Changing Rapidly, One Can at a Time Gone are the days where you might have associated canned beer with tried and true classics like Coors, Budweiser and Miller Genuine Draft. In today’s brewing landscape, draught beer, according to the Brewer’s Association, represents roughly 41.4% of... Read More +
Why Certain Foreign Cars Are Only Available Overseas If you like to travel internationally, then you have most likely encountered some interesting foreign cars in other countries. In Mexico there’s the Chevy Tornado (pictured above) and the Nissan Micra. In the UK there’s the Ford Escort Cosworth, the Holden HSV... Read More +
SCL Named One of Chevron’s Top Marketers for 2018 We are proud to announce that for the 4th year in a row, SCL has been named a Chevron Gold Award Winner. That places us in a category of elite US and Canadian source marketers for Chevron lubricant product purchases and... Read More +
How Drought Impacts the Golden State’s Economy Besides the devastating effects of fire, which is also largely affected by drought, California’s economy is impacted by lack of water in a myriad of ways. According to a Brookings University article, “Water supply, including surface water found in streams, rivers, lakes, or reservoirs,... Read More +
Why Used DEF Containers Are One-Time Use Vessels “Whatever you do, do not leave used DEF containers lying around empty… throw them away, replace them or recycle them,” says subject matter expert, Robert Santich – North American Managing Director for Top!Blue USA. “Not disposing of or recycling your used DEF containers... Read More +
A Price Increase on Antifreeze and Coolant is on the Horizon With increases in the cost of raw materials such as ethylene glycol, rising freight costs and overall market fluctuations that affect the manufacture, processing and delivery of antifreeze and coolant, a 5% price increase for these products will go into... Read More +
Hassle-Free Oil Analysis Shipping and Rapid Results When mailing something at the post office, you have most likely heard the words, “Does this parcel contain anything fragile, liquid, perishable, or potentially hazardous?” Depending on the situation, oil analysis shipping may fall into all four of those categories – most notably... Read More +
Understanding Waste Classification and Waste Management Parameters Not all industrial and commercial waste is categorized in the same way, and different types of waste must be tracked, stored and disposed of according to various federal and state-specific regulations. Living in California, businesses face additional regulations that must be adhered to... Read More +
Your Oil Analysis Process Just Got a Whole Lot Easier In 2016 SCL went through a comprehensive rebranding process where every aspect of our organization was evaluated and adjusted to better deliver the highest possible level of quality and performance for our customers. Nearly two years into that process we... Read More +
A Year After President Trump’s Decision The Paris Climate Agreement was created within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), drafted in the winter of 2015 and signed into existence on April 22, 2016 in Le Bourget, France. Designed to address the mitigation of global greenhouse gas emissions... Read More +
Understanding Grease and Oil Bleed Separation Oil and grease often separate and bleed over time, leaving easily recognizable oily sections within greased equipment, as well as the presence of small pools of standing oil in the middle of and around the edge and lid of a grease container. Understanding how... Read More +
Why Peeing in Your DEF Tank is a Terrible Idea Misinterpretations can be a source of entertainment, even when you’re talking about something as mundane as urine and DEF (diesel exhaust fluid). Somewhere along the line a rumor gets started, it spreads slowly, somehow sounds like a good idea, builds... Read More +
How Will Californians Vote on Prop 6 November 6 In November of 2017 the Road Repair and Accountability Act was passed, otherwise know as Senate Bill 1, or SB-1 – created as a means by which the state of California could offset transportation costs for repairs to highway infrastructure and the... Read More +
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