Japanese Lose Output of More Than 68,000 Vehicles to Quake

Japanese auto makers are beginning to resume normal vehicle production this week after losing more than 68,000 units due to a shutdown at a key supplier triggered by a July 16 earthquake.

Piston-ring, seal-ring and camshaft maker Riken Corp. says its production has returned to near-normal levels today and that it expects to make up for production lost July 17-July 20 “as soon as possible,” Reuters reports.

Toyota Motor Corp. appears to be the auto maker most affected by the shutdown, saying it lost production of 55,000 vehicles at 12 factories. It plans to restart 20 of 31 vehicle assembly lines tomorrow. The 55,000-unit total only includes production lost through Tuesday, so that number will continue to climb until Toyota gets the remaining 11 lines up and running.

Toyota will decide tomorrow whether it can bring up additional lines on Wednesday.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. says it will resume output at all six of its Japanese plants Wednesday, with lost production from the shutdowns totaling 12,000 vehicles.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. plans to restart output at plants in Saitama and Hamamatsu Tuesday morning and at Suzuka Tuesday afternoon. Minivehicle production at Yachiyo Industry Co. Ltd. will remain down. Honda has not revealed how many units have been lost as a result of the temporary closings.

Mazda Motor Corp. was set to resume output at the Hofu plant Monday and will resume production at its Honsha facility Tuesday afternoon. It says it has lost production of 4,500 vehicles.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will start its plants back up on Wednesday and will operate on Thursday, but whether production continues on Friday will depend on parts supplies.

Suzuki Motor Corp.’s plants will remain closed through Tuesday, the fourth day of shutdown. It has not determined whether it will be able to restart production on Wednesday.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. will halt minivehicle production from the second shift on Thursday until Saturday, costing the auto maker 1,500 units.

Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd., which closed its operations Thursday and Friday, lost output of 5,000-6,000 vehicles.