It was a pleasure for the SCL Team to spend the weekend meeting with drivers, individual owner-operators, fleet owners, and maintenance teams at the annual California Trucking Show in Ontario, CA, 14-15. Major industries rely heavily on the trucking industry to maintain their supply chain. Just look at the percent... Read More +
Recent increases in raw material costs, incited by supply shortages due to cuts from major oil-supplying nations, and compounded by geopolitical instability and increasing international conflict, are being cited for a round of price increases from suppliers. In mid-October WTI Crude was hovering around $90/barrel, appearing to be on an... Read More +
ExxonMobil Plays Catch Up While Shell Undergoes Quarterly Indexing Review ExxonMobil, which sat out the most recent round of price increases, will be increasing prices on finished lubricants effective September 15, 2022. According to ExxonMobil, market dynamics have been evolving driven by continued global and regional imbalances in the supply... Read More +
Effective April 15, Spike Will Affect Finished Lubricants, Greases, and Specialty Products Citing “intense inflationary pressure” due to increased costs across the board, some major suppliers have announced yet another price increase of up to 25% effective April 15 on finished lubricants, greases, and specialty products. The move, which comes... Read More +
We are deeply troubled by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the ominous implications it has for escalating tensions between Russia and Western nations. As we watch the war and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine unfold in Europe, we join the free world in condemning violence and praying for peace... Read More +
Ongoing increases in raw materials, significant hikes in packaging, freight get the blame On the heels of a dual increase on DEF in January 2022, suppliers have responded to a volatile market and continued cost hikes across the board with another increase ranging from 15% to 25% on finished lubricants... Read More +
SCL Keeps Eye on Opportunities but Focus on Continuing Tradition of Customer Service Acquisitions of several family-owned oil and lubricant distributors throughout California by national players has created a new landscape of the state’s petroleum industry in the past 14 months alone. While SCL has participated in its own acquisitions... Read More +
Increase for Raw Materials Effective Jan. 1 Precedes Annual Adder Increase for Rail Freight Due to increases announced by diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) suppliers, SCL is increasing DEF prices immediately by $0.25 per gallon. In addition, another increase will take effect later in the month to account for the annual... Read More +
The energy crisis in California is very real, but will new power plants solve the grid problem? The answer isn’t quite as simple as it appears. It’s no secret that California’s grid has been strained over the past several years as energy demand increases fueled in part by population increases... Read More +
Tumultuous Year for DEF, Lubricants, Additives + Greases Ends with Across the Board Hike In what has been an unprecedented and tumultuous year for price increases on DEF, lubricants, additives and greases, manufacturers have once again announced an across-the-board hike of up to 15% on all products effective in December.... Read More +
Owners Wrestle With Halt in New Production + Critical Part Delays that Ground Trucks The ongoing supply chain crisis, impacted largely by a historic backlog at major ports on the West Coast, is hitting fleets particularly hard. In addition to preventing companies from accessing critical repair parts like DEF sensors... Read More +
New announcement cites increase of up to 9% on select products beginning Nov. 4 As costs associated with production and transportation of base oils and lubricants continue to climb, additive manufacturers have now announced an increase of up to 9% on select products beginning Nov. 4, 2021. It’s important to... Read More +
Salinas Valley Farmers Face an Uphill Battle Thanks to Pending Regulations, Trucking Shortages, and Ongoing Dents in Demand With over 1.4 million acres in Salinas Valley dedicated to agriculture, the region is well known as the “Salad Bowl of the World.” Crops ranging from lettuce to broccoli, spinach, strawberries, and... Read More +
SCL Recommends Customers Plan Now to Avoid Fallout from Fertilizer, DEF Shortages DEF costs in late September jumped $0.15 – $0.20 gallon while prices for urea, the key ingredient in diesel exhaust fluid, have also simultaneously skyrocketed in recent weeks. Prices for DEF in Europe has jumped as well, a... Read More +
Precautionary Measures for Companies, Critical Infrastructure and Municipalities to Take For Short- and Long-Term Stability As temperatures continue to rise, most of us are anxiously monitoring the state of California’s power grid. While most only think of their own lights in their own home, the reality is that power is everywhere. ... Read More +
Prices Linger at 7-Year High as Foreign Oil Manufacturers Hold Reins on Supply In the face of continually rising gas prices throughout the United States and a push for his $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill prioritizing clean energy, President Joe Biden called on OPEC+ leaders in July to increase oil production... Read More +
High Demand Among Agriculture, Factory Shutdowns Leading to Higher Prices In the early months of 2021, experts stated that spikes in urea prices were driven by greater demand in the agriculture industry and more prevalent use among diesel-engine vehicles. Although price increases during the spring planting season isn’t uncommon, the... Read More +
Picture this—you pull into the Shell gas station on Pico and Western. The Marquee reads $4.52 for regular unleaded, $4.92 for premium, and $4.50 for Diesel. But wait…weren’t gas prices more than $1 less just a year ago? Yes, but fuel taxes aren’t what they used to be. Fuel... Read More +
Awaiting Funding, Chips for America Act to Invest $52 Billion in U.S. Chip Manufacturing Amid an ongoing semiconductor shortage that continues to significantly impact the ability to complete vehicle builds for automotive and fleets, automobile industry leaders and unions have linked up to push Congress to move on the Chips... Read More +
Suppliers Attribute 7% to 18% Spike Across Products to Market Stress, Soaring Costs In an unprecedented and “unique” year, suppliers have announced their fourth price increase since January 2021 on finished lubricants, greases, chemicals, coolants, DEF and antifreezes – with hikes ranging from 7% to 18% depending on the product.... Read More +
3 Issues Service Departments Should Be Focusing on Now to Get Ahead With AAA predicting more than 37 million Americans will be traveling for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, and millions more feeling comfortable enough to spend summer on the road once again, automotive service centers have an opportunity to... Read More +
How Infrastructure Needs in Los Angeles, Long Beach Tie in to Biden’s Goals The shipping industry has faced hurdle after hurdle since the onset of COVID-19, from disruptions to supply chains that impacted companies worldwide to delays at “America’s Port” in Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, where... Read More +
Find Out Who Comes Out on Top When Price Increases Are Handed Down In the wake of price increases on finished lubricants, it’s important to understand not only the causes of those increases but also who the true winners and losers are when they occur. About 80% of domestic oil... Read More +
Technician Shortages, Inventory, and the Growing Digital Market Remain Top Concerns Following a recent announcement by Gov. Gavin Newsom that California will aim to fully re-open its economy by June 15, automotive dealerships and service shops are now anticipating the closest environment to normal they’ve had in over a year.... Read More +
Continued Rising Costs in Manufacturing Cited for Increase of Up to 12% According to a new round of announcements by manufacturers, pricing for all finished lubricants, greases, chemicals, coolants, and antifreezes will increase up to 12% beginning May 17. The third price increase announcement of the year is attributed to... Read More +
New Pricing on All Finished Lubricants Effective on April 12 Due to unfortunate market conditions relating to recent weather, logistical challenges, and rising costs of raw materials, oil manufacturers have announced an increase on finished lubricants effective April 12, 2021. The recent freeze forced refinery closures throughout Texas and created... Read More +
Chasing 100% Could Have Opposite Effect if You Lose Sight of Customers Attaining a 100% absorption rate continues to dominate conversations in and around the automotive sector – as it has for years – but hitting the mark remains exceedingly rare. With only about 1% to 2% of dealerships nationally... Read More +
From More Digital Services to Finding Ways Respond On-Demand, Here’s What We Should All Be Considering Moving Forward The 2020 pandemic has brought about changes in consumer behavior that have impacted nearly every industry, as people have significantly decreased the number of trips they are making and increased their reliance... Read More +
Recovery Continues for Other Sectors of Manufacturing Nationwide Pandemic shutdowns have had a devastating effect on manufacturing in all segments, with drops in employment at a peak in April 2020. As manufacturing continues to remain below 2019 levels, according to a 2021 outlook by Deloitte, the trajectory of the decline... Read More +
SCL Explores Three Major Issues + Three Predictions for Automotive in 2021 While major players in the automotive industry offer an optimistic outlook for 2021, dealerships and service departments throughout California poised to rebound continue to play the waiting game with state-mandated closures. The solid victories that came out of... Read More +
