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

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I've never seen a made in China motor oil or Chinese branded oil here in the U.S..
Lets say if AutoZone/Wal-Mart/Advanced... started carrying a bargain priced Chinese branded oil such as "Lucky Engine" that has
manufacture approvals and the bit, would you buy it?
 
It's a crowded market. Costs worldwide are similar or higher offshore - in other words - there is no money to be made. China has dirt cheap labor - manufacturing is their bag.
 
I think that there might very well be some.

There's a poster on BITOG who sells his own brand of engine oils in Australia and they are Chinese nano stuff.

Years ago, I made enquiries to a couple of filter manufacturers for my Nissan (AC082 equivalent)...they would do the filter (using South Korean filter paper), O ring, and packaging for $1.06per delivered to the wharf if I bought 500.

what's more, for a little bit (not much) more they could do the packaging in whatever I wanted, Shannow brand filters if I wanted...or even "genuine" Nissan packaging.

China can make anything that they want to, in any quality that they want to depending on what the customer is willing to pay, and what oversight they are prepared to give.
 
I did a bit of stuff with a Chinese outfit a few years ago.

The big problem is freight. Lube blending, a bit like oil refining, is best done close-to-market. Shipping finished lubricants half way around the world is something of a Fool's Errand.

Probably the second biggest problem is scale. As Shell has so adeptly proved in the US (with it's purchase of Pennzoil & Quaker State), scale in a competitive lubes business is everything. Selling a lot of lube or a little still requires you to pass the same suite of industry standard engine test and those costs are not insignificant.

The third thing I'd highlight is the nature of the US engine market. You have so many players hawking what is essentially the same standardised juice, that pricing inevitably drops to an ultra keen levels. I personally don't much care for US engine oils but they are undeniably way, way cheaper than what everyone else pays around the globe.

A Chinese start-up in such a market would be destined to lose money until the day the shutters came down.
 
Great question with some great answers so far.

Shannow hit on something in his comment. Taking the filter scenario a bit further, who is to know if that Shell Ultra Helix on the shelf in say Singapore or Hong Kong or Los Angeles is the actual product? Counterfeiting is big business globally and China is a big player. If there is money to be made then the possibility is there.
 
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.
 
China into "value added"- meaning turning raw material into expensive finished product that is cost effective to ship. A 747 freighter full of I phoneys is worth a lot more than cans of motor oil. My friends in the overseas manufacturing business tell me if you watch the Chinese like a hawk and you'll get good product, if you don't they'll rip you off at any opportunity. I'll not be buying any Chnese brake pads or tires if I can help it.
 
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I think gas-to-liquid is our future. Gas is a hassle to ship, so they turn it into liquid, which winds up as basestock. If China had or was near a bunch of gas they'd be doing it, but they aren't, so they won't. And they're doing well enough with the industries they own... Iphones, LEDs, solar panels, artificial islands...
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I think gas-to-liquid is our future. Gas is a hassle to ship, so they turn it into liquid, which winds up as basestock. If China had or was near a bunch of gas they'd be doing it, but they aren't, so they won't. And they're doing well enough with the industries they own... Iphones, LEDs, solar panels, artificial islands...
wink.gif



This is a big reason why China is being so aggressive with its neighbors over the South China Sea, there are known and suspected oil and gas fields there.

I think the US should follow their lead and claim all the Pacific West of our coast out to a few hundred miles past Hawaii as all ours... ;^)
 
I think it's unfair to dismiss all Chinese finished lubricants as cheap, knock-off garbage. Just like in The West, they have their suppliers of reputable products as well as the cowboys. They've invested big time in engine test facilities (their equivalents to SwRI and the like). If anything they're 'holier that The Pope' when it come to 'literal' (slavish?) interpretations of US & European oil specs. If you think that 'superior' Western companies are entirely incapable of playing fast and loose with the specs, then I would urge you to rethink your views! I looked at one of those PQIA 5W20s recently and immediately thought, no way that's going to to pass the Sequence IIIG 'as is'!

Oh, and while I might personally not approve of what's happening in The South China Sea, they're only doing what us Brits, you Yanks and the Sovs have done at some stage in the last 100 years. Think it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
 
Originally Posted By: Matagonka
Because they can't pass API standards.


What a loaded and incomplete statement. Got any examples of Chinese branded oil submitted for API classification and failed?
 
Originally Posted By: Hootbro
Originally Posted By: Matagonka
Because they can't pass API standards.


What a loaded and incomplete statement. Got any examples of Chinese branded oil submitted for API classification and failed?


It was a joke man.
lol.gif
 
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!
 
Originally Posted By: SonofJoe
I think it's unfair to dismiss all Chinese finished lubricants as cheap, knock-off garbage. Just like in The West, they have their suppliers of reputable products as well as the cowboys. They've invested big time in engine test facilities (their equivalents to SwRI and the like). If anything they're 'holier that The Pope' when it come to 'literal' (slavish?) interpretations of US & European oil specs. If you think that 'superior' Western companies are entirely incapable of playing fast and loose with the specs, then I would urge you to rethink your views! I looked at one of those PQIA 5W20s recently and immediately thought, no way that's going to to pass the Sequence IIIG 'as is'!

Oh, and while I might personally not approve of what's happening in The South China Sea, they're only doing what us Brits, you Yanks and the Sovs have done at some stage in the last 100 years. Think it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.




That is true. Remember the saying that the sun never sets on the British Empire? This was true in the 19th and early 20th century for the Brits!
 
First we have Kung Pao, now We have Korean PAO.

I don't see a cost advantage other than emissions scrubbers, though without analysis tho0se may have a substantial cost. I would imagine there is no BIG labour cost advantage in refining and packaging.
 
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