ID :
170057
Tue, 03/22/2011 - 18:33
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/170057
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Toyota, Honda to postpone resumption of car assembly
TOKYO, March 22 Kyodo - Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday they plan to defer resumption of car assembly amid ongoing difficulties in parts supply following the devastating earthquake earlier this month.
Suspension of vehicle output could last for a long time as the two major Japanese automakers currently have no prospects of resuming production.
Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, earlier said it will suspend car assembly until Tuesday but has decided to postpone the resumption until Saturday. It will not operate plants to assemble vehicles on Sunday.
The automaker will halt its car assembly for 11 operating days, surpassing three and a half days of suspension that followed a powerful earthquake which struck Niigata Prefecture in July 2007.
As the period of output suspension reaches a record for the automaker, Toyota will not be able to produce about 140,000 units.
The automaker, which started making parts from last Thursday, will not resume finished car output at plants of its units Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., it said.
Honda said it had earlier decided to suspend operations at its three car assembly plants in Saitama, Mie and Kumamoto prefectures until Wednesday, but that it will continue to do so at the plants until Sunday.
Regarding production next Monday and later, the automaker said it will make a decision by monitoring developments in restructuring efforts and parts supply.
Although Japanese automakers have increased exports of vehicles mainly to China and Asia, their presence could diminish in overseas markets due to deteriorating availability.
Japanese automakers are being forced to suspend or cut down their plant operations as parts makers in the Tohoku and other regions hit by the quake are facing difficulties in procuring parts.
There are around 20,000 to 30,000 parts needed for vehicle production and automakers cannot produce cars if even one of the parts is missing.
Among other manufacturers, electronics giant Sony Corp. said it will temporarily suspend output of products at five of its factories in Japan through March 31 due to a shortage of materials and parts.
The plants in Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Oita prefectures, all far from the quake-stricken Tohoku and northeastern Kanto regions, have not been damaged but it may consider transferring production to outside Japan for the time being if the parts shortages continue.
Meanwhile, some automakers have decided to resume car assembly, with Nissan Motor Co. starting to produce parts at its domestic plants in such areas as Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, while planning to resume vehicle production on Thursday, it said.
UD Trucks Corp. also plans to resume vehicle assembly at its plant in Saitama Prefecture next Monday as it expects to procure new parts supply following the quake.
But Suzuki Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Daihatsu Motor Co. are assembling cars using stock components, making it difficult for automakers to restore their usual production pace.
Major electronics company Hitachi Ltd. has resumed part of operations at a subsidiary in the quake-hit city of Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, while Fujitsu Ltd. plans to restart manufacturing Wednesday at factories in the Tohoku region.
Computer chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp. has also resumed some operations at its units in Aomori and Yamagata prefectures.
In addition, Asahi Breweries Ltd. has restarted operations at a factory in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture, to make its mainstay beer product for shipments to the Tokyo metropolitan and other areas.
But the company is unlikely to resume operations at its quake-hit plant in Fukushima Prefecture anytime soon, company officials said.
Suspension of vehicle output could last for a long time as the two major Japanese automakers currently have no prospects of resuming production.
Toyota, the world's biggest carmaker, earlier said it will suspend car assembly until Tuesday but has decided to postpone the resumption until Saturday. It will not operate plants to assemble vehicles on Sunday.
The automaker will halt its car assembly for 11 operating days, surpassing three and a half days of suspension that followed a powerful earthquake which struck Niigata Prefecture in July 2007.
As the period of output suspension reaches a record for the automaker, Toyota will not be able to produce about 140,000 units.
The automaker, which started making parts from last Thursday, will not resume finished car output at plants of its units Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd., it said.
Honda said it had earlier decided to suspend operations at its three car assembly plants in Saitama, Mie and Kumamoto prefectures until Wednesday, but that it will continue to do so at the plants until Sunday.
Regarding production next Monday and later, the automaker said it will make a decision by monitoring developments in restructuring efforts and parts supply.
Although Japanese automakers have increased exports of vehicles mainly to China and Asia, their presence could diminish in overseas markets due to deteriorating availability.
Japanese automakers are being forced to suspend or cut down their plant operations as parts makers in the Tohoku and other regions hit by the quake are facing difficulties in procuring parts.
There are around 20,000 to 30,000 parts needed for vehicle production and automakers cannot produce cars if even one of the parts is missing.
Among other manufacturers, electronics giant Sony Corp. said it will temporarily suspend output of products at five of its factories in Japan through March 31 due to a shortage of materials and parts.
The plants in Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Oita prefectures, all far from the quake-stricken Tohoku and northeastern Kanto regions, have not been damaged but it may consider transferring production to outside Japan for the time being if the parts shortages continue.
Meanwhile, some automakers have decided to resume car assembly, with Nissan Motor Co. starting to produce parts at its domestic plants in such areas as Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, while planning to resume vehicle production on Thursday, it said.
UD Trucks Corp. also plans to resume vehicle assembly at its plant in Saitama Prefecture next Monday as it expects to procure new parts supply following the quake.
But Suzuki Motor Corp., Mazda Motor Corp., Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Daihatsu Motor Co. are assembling cars using stock components, making it difficult for automakers to restore their usual production pace.
Major electronics company Hitachi Ltd. has resumed part of operations at a subsidiary in the quake-hit city of Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, while Fujitsu Ltd. plans to restart manufacturing Wednesday at factories in the Tohoku region.
Computer chip maker Renesas Electronics Corp. has also resumed some operations at its units in Aomori and Yamagata prefectures.
In addition, Asahi Breweries Ltd. has restarted operations at a factory in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture, to make its mainstay beer product for shipments to the Tokyo metropolitan and other areas.
But the company is unlikely to resume operations at its quake-hit plant in Fukushima Prefecture anytime soon, company officials said.
