Marine Lubricants Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Marine Lubricants Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The marine lubricants market is projected to register a CAGR of over 2% during the forecast period (2022-2027).

The Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the market but is projected to grow steadily in the forecast period owing to growth in marine industry activities across the globe.

Key Highlights

• Over the short term, the rising demand for marine transport in Europe and Asia-Pacific and growing shipbuilding activities in Asia-Pacific are expected to drive the demand in the market during the forecast period.
• Economic instabilities in shipbuilding economies and unfavorable conditions arising due to the impact of COVID-19 are likely to hinder the market's growth.
• The recovering shipbuilding and marine transport industry in the United States is projected to act as an opportunity for the market in the coming years.
• The Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market and will also witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Key Market TrendsThe Marine Cylinder Lubricant Segment is Expected to Dominate the Market

• Marine cylinder lubricants occupy the largest share in the market. These lubricants find their applications in vessels with either 2-stroke or 4-stroke engines, with 2-stroke engines occupying the majority of the share. The two-stroke crosshead diesel engine has been the preferred prime mover for larger merchant vessels for many years.
• For marine diesel engines operating on residual fuels containing sulfur, cylinder lubricants generally serve the following purposes:
• Form and maintain an oil film to prevent metal-to-metal contact between the cylinder liner and piston rings.
• Neutralize sulfuric acid to control corrosion.
• Clean the cylinder liner, and particularly the piston ring pack, to prevent malfunction and damage caused by combustion and neutralization residues
• The ever-tightening restrictions regarding the environment are pushing the marine cylinder lubricant manufacturers to develop new products continuously. Major manufacturers, such as Shell and Castrol, have even responded to the restrictions being laid out by offering newer products to their customers over the recent years.
• With the growing naval trade globally, the merchant navy fleet is continuously increasing, which may increase the consumption of marine cylinder lubricants.
• Two-stroke engines are being used in merchant fleets, including oil tankers, cargo ships, bulk carriers, and others. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD), the world merchant fleet had reached a carrying capacity of 2.1 billion dead-weight ton (DWT) in January 2021, which was 62 dead-weight ton (DWT) more compared to the previous year, leading to an increase in the consumption of marine cylinder lubricants used in the engines of the merchant fleet, which in turn, stimulates the demand in the studied market.
• According to UNCTD, the total number of merchant ships amounted to 53,275 units in 2020 globally, which reached about 53,973 merchant ships in 2021, with a growth rate of about 1.3%. This led to an increase in the consumption of marine cylinder lubricants, which drives the marine lubricants market.
• Therefore, the aforementioned factors are expected to have a significant impact on the market in the coming years.

The Asia-Pacific Region is Expected to Dominate the Market

• The Asia-Pacific region dominated the marine lubricants market. With rising demand in the majority of industries and commodities, an increasing trend for imports and exports has been registered in recent years.
• The demand for basic commodities and raw materials, including crude oil and natural gas, has been rising. In line with the Paris Climate Pact, the major developing nations of Asia-Pacific are cutting down their daily usage of coal and converting to natural gas, majorly for power generation and cooking purposes. Natural gas is imported in Asia-Pacific, as the production is not sufficient to cope with the demand.
• Lubricants are being used in various marine applications, including engine oils, air compressors, hydraulic systems, turbines, gear systems, bearings and circulation systems, and others.
• According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD), in terms of dead-weight ton (DWT), about 94% of the global shipbuilding activities were located in China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan. Furthermore, Bangladesh and India accounted for about 71% of the global ship recycling.
• According to UNCTD, China had 1,08,481 merchant ships in 2021, which reached about 1,15,154 merchant ships in 2022, with a growth rate of about 6.1%, driving the demand in the marine lubricants market.
• In June 2022, China launched its third advanced air carrier Fujian from Shanghai's Jiangnan Shipyard. The Fujian is China's first domestically designed and built catapult aircraft carrier.
• Indian shipping tonnage accounted for 12.68 million gross tonnages with 1431 ships as of March 2020 and reached 13.01 million gross registered tonnages (GRT), with 1463 ships as of March 31, 2021.

Therefore, the aforementioned factors are expected to have a significant impact on the market in the coming years.

Competitive Landscape

The marine lubricants market is highly fragmented in nature. Some of the key players in the market include Shell PLC, BP PLC (Castrol), Chevron Corporation, LUKOIL, and ExxonMobil Corporation, among others (not in any particular order).

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

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