The outlook for supplies of thinners and cutting oils — materials used in the production of a wide range of products from chips to cars to planes — is becoming increasingly uncertain, according to a Japanese machine tool industry group. There are no shortages now, but the prolonged conflict in the Middle East and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz could affect supplies in the future, said Shigetomo Sakamoto, president of Shibaura Machine and the head of the Japan Machine Tool Builders’ Association. While inventories of the solvents and lubricants will not run out in the immediate future, "we are closely monitoring the situation,” he said. The Japanese government and companies are diversifying suppliers and working to secure alternative sources of naphtha and other petroleum-derived products. Shortages of thinners that were spurred by war in the Middle East have eased in recent weeks, Sakamoto said.…