Toyota halts assembly lines due to parts shortage, supply chains disrupted by Kyushu quakes

Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday said that assembly lines at its plants in Aichi Prefecture, where the auto giant is headquartered, as well as those in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures had been suspending due to last week's powerful earthquakes in Japan's southwest tightening supply chains and causing a parts shortage.

A lack of parts and supply chains being disrupted in the wake of the quakes may see more suspensions issued by the maker of the popular Prius and Yaris hybrid cars, with the automaker saying that subsequent shutdowns may be announced for all but one of its 16 plants around the country.

The suspensions could last until Saturday, Toyota said, with final decisions on the matter likely to be made on Wednesday, marking the second time in three months Toyota has been forced to halt nationwide production, following production at its Miyata plant in Fukuoka Prefecture been halted on last Friday until next Saturday, due to the quake, and an explosion at a steel supplier in February causing a week-long production halt.

While Toyota has said its production suspension this time may be for less than one week, some experts on the matter have said that based on how the quakes have affected Toyota's supplier, Aisin Seiki Co., who make parts for doors and engines at plants in Kumamoto, the suspension could last for more than two weeks.

Toyota has said, however, that production output of its vehicles would not be affected, and the impact of the current suspension would be far less than those the automaker experienced following the Tohoku quake and tsunami disaster in 2011 that severely affected both domestic and international supply chains and output.

The automaker, whose plants in Kyushu produce its high-end Lexus models, said that some of its subsidiaries including Daihatsu Motor Co., who make both city and off-road vehicles, as well as Hino Motors Ltd., widely known here for producing trucks, buses and diesel engines, will also be affected by the nationwide production halt.

The double quakes, which struck Kumamoto and surrounding prefectures last week have also severely disrupted operations at other manufacturers in the area, including those at Honda Motor Co. and consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. who has also halted production at a plant in Kumamoto Prefecture.