Japan’s base oils output fell to a three-month low in May, adding to lower-than-usual production throughout Asia in first-half 2025 because of a protracted round of plant-maintenance work.Weaker demand in Japan and in Asia cushioned the impact of the drop in supply.The completion of most of the plant-maintenance work in Japan and Asia by the end of the second quarter of the year raised the prospect of a recovery in supply.Demand by contrast faced a seasonal slowdown during the third quarter.Japan’s base oils output came to 155,800 kilolitres (138,000 tonnes) in May, government data showed..The volume fell from more than 177,000 kilolitres during each of the previous two months and from typical levels of around 173,000 kilolitres/month in 2024.Japan’s base oils output trended lower in 2023 and 2024 as several plant closures cut the country’s production capacity.The drop in output extended through the first half of this year against the backdrop of protracted plant-maintenance work.Japan’s increasingly weak base oils and lubricants consumption cushioned the impact of lower output.Base oils consumption of 129,300 kilolitres in May was similar to the previous three monthsBut demand fell by 32% and for a fourth month from year-earlier levels.Japan's base oils consumption fell against the backdrop of shrinking industrial production in May from year-earlier levels, while the country's exports fell to a four-month low.Steady or higher consumption would have instead compounded the impact of lower base oils output during that period and cut further the availability of surplus volumes for export.Japan’s base oils exports of 38,200 kilolitres in May fell from more than 54,000 kilolitres the previous month, reflecting the impact of lower output.But shipment volumes rose by 52% and for a fifth month from year-earlier levels.The higher volumes cushioned the impact of Group I plant-maintenance in Thailand in May, and of a marked slowdown in shipments from Europe to southeast Asia in the second quarter of the year. .China’s May base oils output falls.S Korea’s May base oils output rises.Asia’s April lube demand falls
