Toyota, Nissan extend halts in Thailand

TOKYO - Agence France-Presse

This picture shows cars sitting on a flyover at the Honda car factory outside Thailand’s Ayutthaya on Oct 11. AFP photo

Japanese automakers Toyota and Nissan on Nov. 4 said they had extended production suspensions at their factories in Thailand due to the impact of severe flooding on parts supply.
Japan’s biggest automaker Toyota said that its three sites in Thailand, which have been suspended since Oct. 10, would remain closed until at least Nov. 12. Nissan said it would halt production until at least Nov. 14.
The impact of the deadly flooding in Thailand has come as Japan’s automakers worked to recover from the March earthquake and tsunami disaster, which crippled supply chains.
Toyota said the Thai floods will mean continued production adjustments at plants in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam as well as Pakistan and Malaysia from Nov. 7.
A company spokesman said that the production halt would mean the loss of around 69,000 units, or just over 10 percent of Toyota’s Thailand output, since the company suspended production at its three plants on Oct. 10. Toyota manufactured 630,000 vehicles in Thailand in 2010. The impact of the production adjustments in Japan is expected to affect around 22,000 units between Oct. 24 and Nov. 4. Honda has also been hit, with one of its plants inundated and its production in Japan, U.S., Canada, Turkey and in several Asian countries affected.