Eastern Europe's Shifting Fortunes

摘要

Lubricant suppliers searching for growing markets don't have a lot of places to turn. Demand in the Asia-Pacific region is cer-tainly expanding at a healthy clip, but otherwise pickings are slim. In Western Europe, lube demand is actually falling and is projected to continue doing so. Demand in North America has fallen for the past three years and is expected to muster only minimal growth for the foreseeable future. But there is steady, significant growth in Eastern Europe. Lube demand for the region ― Europe's former Communist bloc, Russia and the former Soviet states, plus Turkey ― rose approximately 3 percent per year from 2000 to 2002. And, according to a study released last year by Kline and Co., the market will expand at an average rate of 3 percent per year through 2012.