05/18/2026
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Massive synthetic and motor oil shortage is hitting America as we speak.
AutoZone, Toyota and Nissan have released bulletins and emails stating there will be a major shortage of upwards of 40-60% all the while available supplies will skyrocket in price.
Why? America is a net importer bringing in 55% of synthetic and it all has to go through the Strait of Hormuz which Iran still has locked down and full control of.
Motor oil is not pumped out of the ground and poured into a bottle. Modern synthetic passenger car motor oils (the kind required by nearly every car built in the last 15 years) require high purity Group III base oils. Group III base oils are the raw ingredient that makes synthetic oil synthetic.
In the United States, "synthetic" is a marketing term, not a chemical classification. Most oils sold as "full synthetic" are Group III base stocks refined from crude oil. ExxonMobil itself states: "There is no generally accepted definition of a synthetic base stock, or synthetic base oil. In the U.S., the government considers 'synthetic' to be a marketing term." And: "Most Group III base stocks are refined from crude oil streams."
Get ready for shortages and massive price jumps.
