Why no Chinese made or branded oils in the U.S.?

[SonofJoe]

The fact is that no-one can pass common PCMO API standards right now as there are so many of the standard industry tests that have reached the end of their respective lives. This is a situation that will persist until the introduction of the GF-6 in 20XX (insert your own estimate of XX because this has been put back so many times that no-one has the first clue as to when it will be now).

The AddCo's and oil companies that got their GF-5 and Dexos approvals years ago must now be truly joyous. Any potential market entrants (like the Chinese) are effectively locked out for the next 2 to 3 years (maybe longer?). We used to have such approvals in Medieval England except in those days we called them Royal Warrants (pseudo monopolies sanctioned by The Crown in exchange for cash). It was a fab way of exploiting a market for maximum profit extraction. So nothing changes there then...

 

[Kool1]

I thought this may be interesting.



https://guide.alibaba.com/t-shop/toyota-...s_77280682.html

 

[nthach]

I've seen Sinopec oil on Amazon by the barrel - but I doubt Prime includes LTL freight.

There's a small outfit in Richmond, CA named Amtecol that somehow supplies a lot of Chinese or Vietnamese owned indie shops in the Bay Area. The oil says made in USA but I suspect it comes from China and the bottles aren't the same quality you'd expect from a domestic supplier. I ridden my bike by there a few times and I don't see any elaborate facilities for chemical storage and blending, unlike the old Pennzoil facility in Alameda.

 

[Exit32]

Wonder what motor oil is used as factory fill on the new Buick Envision SUV. Wouldn't think GM ships motor oil to China for this, but I've been wrong before.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: Exit32
Wonder what motor oil is used as factory fill on the new Buick Envision SUV. Wouldn't think GM ships motor oil to China for this, but I've been wrong before.
A lot of motor oil already gets imported to China for the Envisions. GM can simply tap into whatever existing Chinese stashes of oil it wants. I'd wager that GM might even be using low-brow SN oil in those factory fills, since, really, factory fill oil doesn't matter much. It'll get dexos1 next fill, right?

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: HangFire
Originally Posted By: oil_film_movies
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
I would try to avoid Chinese brake fluid. Too much copy cat going on there.
This one did not come from China, it came from the E.U. (likely France). ... Question: What major auto fluids (oil, anti-freeze, brake, power steering, etc.) come from China or other third world countries? I've never heard of any. We get everything else from China, so why is Walmart not overflowing with cheap Chinese motor oil, etc.?


The chemical business rewards distribution models that put large (high capital investment) processing plants in strategic locations, typically at the source of the raw material (in the Middle East near oil wells, for example) or near the customer at a large port (say, the Gulf of Mexico) where ships can pump off the raw material, and a good rail distribution system exists.

The problem with fluids from China is they have neither the raw materials, nor the proximity to the customer. Essentially you're paying twice the shipping cost just to have them refine and package.

 

[Starman2112]

Just what we need - more Chinese products.

 

[FlyPenFly]

Making a $1200 phone $800, sure.

Making a $22 per 5 quart into $16... not worth it.

 

[jkasch]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Originally Posted By: skyactiv

Lets say if (Ap stores)... started carrying a bargain priced Chinese branded oil such as "Lucky Engine" that has
manufacture approvals and the bit, would you buy it?


When I first saw Royal Purple I thought THAT was Chinese!


I was thinking Redline. (Ya know, cuz Red China.)

 

[ChrisD46]

Why would you want to buy them when we have so many fine oils in the West (i.e. Europe and USA) ?

 

[edwardh1]

OT but who makes Toyoto's oil?

 

[zeng]

Originally Posted By: spackard
Looks like you can order Sinopec engine oil, for something close to $12/gal in bulk.
It's even on Amazon, but the image there says "Made in Singapore". They're kind of China.

That should be genuine.
Singapore has four players in ExxonMobil/Shell/Chevron and a local native entity in Singapore Petroleum Company Ltd all owning refineries.
In 2012 or thereabout, 80% of Singapore refinery products are for export market, including Malaysia.

 

[PimTac]

Toyota's TGMO is made by Mobil in the US market. Different companies depending on location.

Singapore is not China. Not even close though many Chinese live there.

 

[Ducked]

I use "Chinese" oil. It seems OK.



I currently only use the straight weight stuff, but I'll probably start using the CPC 15W/40 when my Delvac MX 15W/40 (no longer on the shelves) runs out.

(Of course I realise that the title included "in the U.S." but there is a pretty good legal argument that Taiwan would be a US protectorate in international law, if there was actually any international law.)

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted By: ChrisD46
Why would you want to buy them when we have so many fine oils in the West (i.e. Europe and USA) ?

Same reason why you own nothing but Korean cars. Cheap. Save money.

 

[fdcg27]

This is what I was thinking.
China is all about cheap labor and the labor content in finished motor oil just isn't all that great.
Ship the basestock and ad packs in then ship the finished oil out?
Can't see how this works in economic terms.

 

[Ducked]

http://new.cpc.com.tw/division/lb/information-text.aspx?id=6

Hmm...lowish TBN (under 6) compared to 10 for the Delvac. Not that I likely need the 10, but still...

OTOH the CF/SF stuff that the farmers use is over 11. It gives some (presumably rather ancient) OEM approvals too. Dunno offhand where I'd buy it, though.

http://nangdongphuong.com/en/product/cpc-super-duty-cf-motor-oil.html

 

[KyleP33]

It's simple! What you don't know may kill you, metaphorically speaking!

That's why it is important for each and every one of us to continue learning.

Learning new ways of thinking and new ways of doing.

More importantly, our rate of learning should always be equal to, if not greater than, the rate of change in the rapidly-changing, constantly-evolving and seemingly chaotic world we are living in.

 

[newbe46]

Maybe it's not cost effective?

 

[StevieC]

Liquids in general are expensive to ship around. I know because I worked at a chemical company and we would buy things in concentrates before making our ready made products to cut back on costs and we always sourced locally because of shipping weights.