Japan auto makers to restart production
By Chang-Ran Kim |
April 9, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
JAPAN'S top auto makers plan to resume production at all domestic factories in stages from Monday, but output levels will be at half of original plans and at the mercy of parts availability, while fresh power outages further clouded the outlook.
A magnitude-9 earthquake on March 11 off Japan's northeastern coast damaged equipment, cut off electricity and disrupted supply chains over the past month, forcing auto makers to suspend most work.
On Thursday night, another big tremor shook the coast of northeast Japan, causing a key supplier to the auto industry, Renesas Electronics, to shut four factories.
But Toyota Motor Corp yesterday said its group will reopen all 18 factories that build Toyota and Lexus cars between April 18 and 27, including a brand-new site owned by subsidiary Central Motor that has lost power from Thursday's quake. Toyota said it would work at about half the rate of initial plans.
Second-ranked Nissan Motor Co said it would resume production, using parts delivered from suppliers, in stages between Monday and April 18.
Honda Motor Co is due to restart limited production at all plants on Monday, and aims to return to production levels before the March 11 quake in two to three months.
A dearth of supply from Renesas, the world's top maker of microcontroller chips, is a big headache for auto makers worldwide.
Even as Japanese factories gradually resume work, analysts expect production overseas to begin falling as parts run out. Nissan said it would halt output at its Sunderland plant, in northeast England, for three days later this month. Toyota and Honda are also bracing for lower output in some factories outside Japan.
A magnitude-9 earthquake on March 11 off Japan's northeastern coast damaged equipment, cut off electricity and disrupted supply chains over the past month, forcing auto makers to suspend most work.
On Thursday night, another big tremor shook the coast of northeast Japan, causing a key supplier to the auto industry, Renesas Electronics, to shut four factories.
But Toyota Motor Corp yesterday said its group will reopen all 18 factories that build Toyota and Lexus cars between April 18 and 27, including a brand-new site owned by subsidiary Central Motor that has lost power from Thursday's quake. Toyota said it would work at about half the rate of initial plans.
Second-ranked Nissan Motor Co said it would resume production, using parts delivered from suppliers, in stages between Monday and April 18.
Honda Motor Co is due to restart limited production at all plants on Monday, and aims to return to production levels before the March 11 quake in two to three months.
A dearth of supply from Renesas, the world's top maker of microcontroller chips, is a big headache for auto makers worldwide.
Even as Japanese factories gradually resume work, analysts expect production overseas to begin falling as parts run out. Nissan said it would halt output at its Sunderland plant, in northeast England, for three days later this month. Toyota and Honda are also bracing for lower output in some factories outside Japan.
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