Toyota to restart output as supplier recovers
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
TOKYO, July 23 (AFP): Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor Corp. said today it will resume some of its domestic production Tuesday as a key parts supplier re-started a plant hit by last week's earthquake.
Riken Corp., the supplier at the centre of the recent stoppages, resumed some production Monday at its factory in Niigata prefecture making auto parts such as piston rings, seal rings and camshafts, a company official said.
Toyota Motor, which was forced to suspend all domestic production last Thursday because of a shortage of parts supplied by Riken, decided to resume partial production at 12 domestic plants from Tuesday, a spokeswoman said.
Other automakers such as Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have also curtailed their output following the quake.
Riken is a major supplier to Japanese automakers and its problems after last Monday's earthquake slammed the brakes on Japan's entire automobile output. It was unclear how long it would take for Riken to start shipping parts again.
"Production of our products, for example a piston ring, takes time. We are now checking our inventories and the damage done to products that were half done or nearly finished," a Riken spokesman said.
"We will be speaking with our customers and will try to respond to their needs on an individual basis," he said.
The quake and aftershocks in central Niigata and Nagano prefectures on July 16 killed 10 people, injured more than 1,000, destroyed buildings and roads and shut down Japan's largest nuclear power plant.
Automakers dispatched some 700 helpers to assist Riken get its factory up and running again.
Riken Corp., the supplier at the centre of the recent stoppages, resumed some production Monday at its factory in Niigata prefecture making auto parts such as piston rings, seal rings and camshafts, a company official said.
Toyota Motor, which was forced to suspend all domestic production last Thursday because of a shortage of parts supplied by Riken, decided to resume partial production at 12 domestic plants from Tuesday, a spokeswoman said.
Other automakers such as Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have also curtailed their output following the quake.
Riken is a major supplier to Japanese automakers and its problems after last Monday's earthquake slammed the brakes on Japan's entire automobile output. It was unclear how long it would take for Riken to start shipping parts again.
"Production of our products, for example a piston ring, takes time. We are now checking our inventories and the damage done to products that were half done or nearly finished," a Riken spokesman said.
"We will be speaking with our customers and will try to respond to their needs on an individual basis," he said.
The quake and aftershocks in central Niigata and Nagano prefectures on July 16 killed 10 people, injured more than 1,000, destroyed buildings and roads and shut down Japan's largest nuclear power plant.
Automakers dispatched some 700 helpers to assist Riken get its factory up and running again.