Toyota stops production in 80% of its Japanese factories after the recent earthquake Infobae
Tokyo, 18 Mar Japanese vehicle manufacturer Toyota announced Friday the three-day closure of more than half of its domestic production lines in 11 factories due to the impact on its supplies of the recent earthquake in Fukushima.Production will be suspended on March 21, 22 and 23 on 18 of its 28 lines spread over 11 of the 14 factories that the company has in the Japanese archipelago, it said in a statement.The world leader of the engine by sales explained that it has made this decision due to problems with the supply of components among its suppliers that have been affected by the strong earthquake of magnitude 7.4 that struck the northeast of the country on Wednesday night.The suspension also affects the production of Hino and Daihatsu, owned by the group.Japanese car manufacturers have been reducing their production intermittently due to problems in the global supply chain caused by the covid-19 pandemic, to which the impact of the earthquake is now being added.Toyota itself has seen its activity greatly impacted by persistent epidemic outbreaks in Southeast Asia and its impact on the distribution network, especially for semiconductors.The company has announced to its suppliers its plans to cut domestic production by up to 20% from April compared to its previous plan, with the aim of lightening the burden on suppliers who are experiencing difficulties.In addition to this reduction is the one announced for this month of March at the national level, which will affect the production of some 20,000 units, according to estimates collected by the public broadcaster NHK.The manufacturer partially resumed operations on Friday at its factories in the northeastern region of the country after having kept them closed on the eve following the earthquake, and while continuing to assess the damage to its facilities.Other vehicle manufacturers have also been affected by the recent earthquake in Japan. This is the case of Subaru, which today announced the suspension of production in three factories until the 21st due to similar problems with its parts suppliers.
