In 2006-2010 diesel fuel production in the world increased from 1,167.4 million tons to 1,284.4 million tons.  In this period diesel fuel production was going up in response to growing demand, which was stipulated by the economic growth in the production sector and by the diesel fuel automobile sector expansion. A sharp slump in demand for diesel fuel in the sector of industrial consumption and in retail business took place in 2009.  This slump was caused by the industrial recession, which was induced by the economic crisis. The slump in demand resulted in production decrease of diesel fuel by 6.3%. In 2010, began the economic redevelopment, which resulted in the expansion of the diesel fuel consumption volume.  This year the world diesel fuel production has almost reached the pre-crisis ceiling and equaled 1,284.4 million tons.

According to BusinesStat estimates, from 2011 to 2015 diesel fuel production will be increasing by 4.4-4.9 % annually. The prospects of the diesel fuel market are connected with the expansion of the diesel fuel automobile sector.  The usage of diesel fuel blended products and a special ecological additive (GTL diesel fuel) opens up ample opportunities for using this product on the markets of the developed countries, where the ecological pollution connected with the vehicle emissions is a serious problem.

The world’s leading diesel fuel manufacturers are the USA and China. In 2010 these countries produced 16.3% and 12.7% respectively, from the world’s total production of diesel fuel. Apart from the USA and China, a significant amount of diesel fuel is produced in Russia, Japan and India.

Major contribution to supply of diesel fuel on the Russian market is made by domestic production. In 2006 - 2010, the share of production in the total volume of supply of diesel fuel on the average equaled 86 %.

In 2006-2010, supply of diesel fuel went up by 4.2 %.  Until 2009, in response to the increasing demand, supply of diesel fuel had been growing.  In the next two years (2009 and 2010) supply of diesel fuel in Russia went down by 1.9 and 0.8 % respectively, comparing to the previous two years. In 2009 decrease in supply was attributed to the diesel fuel production decline by 2.4%. In 2010, supply went down because of the storage decline by 31.7%.

In 2006-2010, the actual sales volume of diesel fuel in Russia went up by 4.2 million tons and reached 31.6 million tons. Summer diesel fuel equals the bulk of the sales, its share in the total sales volume averages 82%. Winterized diesel fuel accounts for 15 % of the sales volume. Arctic diesel fuel accounts for the minor part of the total sales volume – less than 1 %. Such distribution is stipulated by some factors. Firstly, on the most territory of Russia even in the southern regions the all year round usage of summer diesel fuel is prohibited, as the cloud point of summer diesel fuel is - 5°С. However, as the price for summer diesel fuel is relatively low, it is in high demand. Secondly, it is more profitable for the enterprises to produce summer diesel fuel. While producing summer diesel fuel raw materials can be used more efficiently