Fuel additive supplier Chemex has warned that it is now “saddening” to see the fuel industry “slumping” as it struggles to meet demand.
Chemex, which supplies Chemex fuel additive maker Aptina Fuel and Chemical in the UK, told Business Insider that it was “not yet clear how long the market will be in a state of collapse”.
It said in a statement that while “we understand the fuel additive industry is struggling to meet the needs of the automotive industry, we are now acutely aware that the supply chain is being disrupted”.
Chemex’s statement said that while it had “an abundance of resources” it was still “confident that the industry can recover and will recover”.
It added: “We do not have a definitive answer yet, but we remain hopeful that this is a temporary setback and that we will be able to quickly re-establish the fuel market”.
The fuel additive sector is undergoing a “fundamental change” that will require “significant time and investment”, it added.
Chemix has been criticised for making fuel additive products in the US.
In 2016, the US company said it was taking “aggressive action” to address “weaknesses” in the manufacturing processes of its fuel additive suppliers.
It said the US companies’ supply chain was “very vulnerable to foreign competition”.
Chemix said that in a world where “foreign demand is not yet a reality”, the industry was “under a tremendous amount of pressure”.
It also said the “cost of fuel additive manufacturing” would likely rise in the future as “the industry becomes more competitive and becomes more dependent on foreign suppliers”.
