March 28 (Reuters) – Following is a roundup of the
impact of this month's devastating earthquake and tsunami on
Japanese manufacturers of cars and electronics.
Plant shutdowns in Japan threaten supplies to manufacturers
across the globe of items from semiconductors to car parts.
Japanese companies are not only reeling from damage to
factories and suppliers in quake-hit northeastern Japan but are
also suffering from fuel shortages in the northeast and power
outages in the Tokyo area that are affecting production and
distribution.
AUTO MAKERS
* Toyota Motor Corp halted most operations at 18
factories that assemble Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Japan. It
has restarted production of three hybrid models, the Prius,
Lexus HS250h and CT200h, from March 28 at two factories but will
suspend output for one day this week, on March 30. Toyota is
making car parts at plants near its base in Toyota City, central
Japan, for overseas assembly facilities and for repair parts.
Toyota will delay the launch of the Prius wagon and minivan
models in Japan from the original plan for the end of April.
[ID:nL3E7EG0J4]
* Honda Motor Co extended its production halt in
Japan to April 3. [ID:nL3E7EI0NM] Honda said last week a fifth
of its Japan-based Tier 1 suppliers affected by the earthquake
would take more than a week to recover. [ID:nN21110937] Honda
made 69,170 cars in January in Japan, accounting for around a
quarter of its production. On Thursday the company said it would
resume production of motorcycles and power products at its
Kumamoto plant in Kyushu, southern Japan.
* Nissan Motor Co resumed vehicle production at all
assembly plants in Japan from Thursday, March 24, while supplies
last. It resumed production of parts for overseas manufacturing
and repair parts on March 21. Restoration continues at its
damaged Iwaki engine factory in Tochigi prefecture, north of
Tokyo. Nissan made 81,851 cars in January in Japan, where it
manufactures 23 percent of its vehicles. Goldman Sachs has
calculated that one day's lost production costs Nissan about 2
billion yen ($25 million) in profit.
* Mazda Motor Corp said on Thursday it would
suspend production of vehicle repair parts and parts for
overseas production at its Hofu factory in Yamaguchi on March
28, after having resumed limited operations there earlier this
week. Its Hiroshima factory will continue limited production
until further notice, a spokeswoman said.
* Suzuki Motor Corp will keep car production halted
at its three assembly plants in Japan through March 29, and
resume assembly of commercial trucks and vans at one of those
plants for one shift on March 28 and 29. It will continue
operating an engine factory using parts in its inventory. It
has not decided on production plans for March 30 and beyond.
* Fuji Heavy Industries Co said all five of the car
and parts-related plants for its Subaru-brand vehicles in Gunma
prefecture, north of Tokyo, will be shut at least until Monday,
pushing back a restart that had been due on Tuesday. Production
of vehicle parts to be shipped to overseas manufacturing plants
started on Wednesday and production of vehicle repair parts
began Thursday.
ELECTRONICS MAKERS:
* Sony Corp said shortages of parts and raw
materials would force it to suspend or reduce production at five
plants in central and southern Japan making digital cameras,
camera lenses, flat-screen televisions and other goods. Another
plant may be affected by rolling power blackouts. Six production
sites in northern Japan have been halted since the quake. If
shortages continue, Sony may consider temporarily shifting some
production overseas.
* Toshiba said output was suspended at a factory in
Iwate prefecture making system LSI chips for microprocessors and
image sensors, with no timeframe yet for a resumption of output.
An assembly line at a plant making small liquid crystal displays
for smartphones and other devices will be closed for a month to
repair damaged machinery
* Canon said two camera plants on the southern
island of Kyushu would stay closed until the end of the month
amid a shortage of parts. Production was halted at a third
camera factory, with no date set for re-starting. Production at
a lens factory north of Tokyo was suspended on Monday, while
staff were inspecting an optical materials plant, also north of
Tokyo.
* Panasonic said some plants in northeast Japan
remained closed including one making optical pick-ups and
another assembling cameras and audio equipment.
* Renesas Electronics , the world's largest maker of
micro-controllers said production at three of its 22 factories
in Japan is still halted. Two are in areas affected by power
blackouts, while a third, the Hitachi-Naka factory, is yet to be
fully inspected for damage following the quake. The company
hopes to re-open the Hitachi-Naka site in July.
* Elpida Memory Inc said on Monday it anticipated
no interruptions to product supply following the quake. The
world's third largest maker of DRAM chips said it had secured
enough supplies to last until July and was in discussions about
alternative suppliers from August onwards.
* Fujitsu said it would partially re-start a
semiconductor factory in the northern prefecture of Iwate on
April 3. This will be the last of its 6 quake-hit plants to
re-open.
OTHERS
* Shin-Etsu Chemical , the world's leading maker of
silicon wafers, said its biggest wafer plant remained offline,
along with a PVC factory. The firm has not said when it will
restart operations. Some of the wafers made in Japan are shipped
to chip companies overseas. Shin-Etsu is trying to boost
production elsewhere, particularly of 300-mm wafers, to make up
the shortfall.
