An Opel factory in Germany (Asahi Shimbun file photo)The disruption to Japanese industrial production caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is rippling through global supply chains, stopping production in factories across the world.
The U.S. research firm IHS Automotive released a report on Friday forecasting that cuts in Japanese carmakers' production and the failure of parts supplies from Japan would reduce global automobile production by 600,000 vehicles by the end of March.
The number of cars manufactured worldwide could drop by up to 30 percent in the two months following the quake, according to IHS.
General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, shut down an assembly plant making compact pickups in Shreveport, Louisiana, on March 21 because vital parts shipments from Japan had failed to arrive.
The company also stopped some production lines and stood down 59 workers at a factory in Buffalo, New York, that supplies engines to the Louisiana plant.
GM plans to resume operations at the Shreveport factory on March 28 and recall the workers in Buffalo after sourcing the necessary supplies.
GM's Opel unit in Europe has suspended operations at plants in Spain and Germany.
GM Chief Executive Daniel Akerson said on March 19 that the disruption from the quake could affect all automakers.
Ford Motor Co. on Friday told dealers to stop taking orders for vehicles painted in "tuxedo black" because of difficulties with importing a special pigment from Japan.
PSA Peugeot Citroen, the major French automaker, said disruption to supplies of electronics parts from the Tokyo-based auto parts firm Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd. was beginning to affect operations at its diesel engine plants in Europe.
Peugeot Citroen has not yet stopped any of its production lines, but a spokesman said many of its factories were being affected.
Supply problems are also hitting other industries. Apple Inc.'s iPad 2 tablet uses at least five Japanese-made parts, according to a U.S. research firm.
Semiconductor memory chips supplied by Japanese makers could be replaced by South Korean products, but other parts, including special glass used in displays, have no alternative suppliers, according to the research firm.
The aircraft manufacturing industry is also bracing itself for supply problems. Tokyo-based IHI Corp. makes vital aircraft engine parts for General Electric Co. and others at its plant in Soma, a city in quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture. That factory is now at a standstill.
Power outages and disruption to transportation networks are compounding parts shortages.
A senior official of one Asian country's Japan chamber of commerce said uncertainty about when infrastructure would be restored meant that "many companies are finding it difficult to foresee how things will pan out and are finding it impossible to develop business plans."
At a regular news conference on March 22, Yao Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, predicted that Japanese companies would look to facilities in China to take over some of their production.
A senior official of a special economic zone in Guangdong province is reported to have proposed that quake-hit Japanese makers build substitute plants in the economic zone while extending his condolences to business partners for the disaster.
Some Japanese makers are already preparing to shift equipment and materials to China, while others are considering building new plants in the country rather than repairing the damage at home.
A wide range of industries, including the electronics parts, steel and auto parts sectors, are expected to follow such moves.
After the March 11 quake, Sony Corp. announced a plan to consider temporarily shifting production overseas.
The trend could lead to transfer of a broad array of Japanese technologies to foreign companies and countries.
Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said there are many countries wishing to attract the parts businesses that constitute the core of the Japanese manufacturing sector.
Mei predicted that The Great East Japan Earthquake will result in accelerating technology transfer from Japan.
"Makers in South Korea and Taiwan are looking for opportunities to win contracts to supply customers that are suffering from parts supply failures from Japan," an executive at a Japanese manufacturer in China said. "We cannot afford to give them any such an opportunity."
The U.S. research firm IHS Automotive released a report on Friday forecasting that cuts in Japanese carmakers' production and the failure of parts supplies from Japan would reduce global automobile production by 600,000 vehicles by the end of March.
The number of cars manufactured worldwide could drop by up to 30 percent in the two months following the quake, according to IHS.
General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, shut down an assembly plant making compact pickups in Shreveport, Louisiana, on March 21 because vital parts shipments from Japan had failed to arrive.
The company also stopped some production lines and stood down 59 workers at a factory in Buffalo, New York, that supplies engines to the Louisiana plant.
GM plans to resume operations at the Shreveport factory on March 28 and recall the workers in Buffalo after sourcing the necessary supplies.
GM's Opel unit in Europe has suspended operations at plants in Spain and Germany.
GM Chief Executive Daniel Akerson said on March 19 that the disruption from the quake could affect all automakers.
Ford Motor Co. on Friday told dealers to stop taking orders for vehicles painted in "tuxedo black" because of difficulties with importing a special pigment from Japan.
PSA Peugeot Citroen, the major French automaker, said disruption to supplies of electronics parts from the Tokyo-based auto parts firm Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd. was beginning to affect operations at its diesel engine plants in Europe.
Peugeot Citroen has not yet stopped any of its production lines, but a spokesman said many of its factories were being affected.
Supply problems are also hitting other industries. Apple Inc.'s iPad 2 tablet uses at least five Japanese-made parts, according to a U.S. research firm.
Semiconductor memory chips supplied by Japanese makers could be replaced by South Korean products, but other parts, including special glass used in displays, have no alternative suppliers, according to the research firm.
The aircraft manufacturing industry is also bracing itself for supply problems. Tokyo-based IHI Corp. makes vital aircraft engine parts for General Electric Co. and others at its plant in Soma, a city in quake-hit Fukushima Prefecture. That factory is now at a standstill.
Power outages and disruption to transportation networks are compounding parts shortages.
A senior official of one Asian country's Japan chamber of commerce said uncertainty about when infrastructure would be restored meant that "many companies are finding it difficult to foresee how things will pan out and are finding it impossible to develop business plans."
At a regular news conference on March 22, Yao Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, predicted that Japanese companies would look to facilities in China to take over some of their production.
A senior official of a special economic zone in Guangdong province is reported to have proposed that quake-hit Japanese makers build substitute plants in the economic zone while extending his condolences to business partners for the disaster.
Some Japanese makers are already preparing to shift equipment and materials to China, while others are considering building new plants in the country rather than repairing the damage at home.
A wide range of industries, including the electronics parts, steel and auto parts sectors, are expected to follow such moves.
After the March 11 quake, Sony Corp. announced a plan to consider temporarily shifting production overseas.
The trend could lead to transfer of a broad array of Japanese technologies to foreign companies and countries.
Mei Xinyu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said there are many countries wishing to attract the parts businesses that constitute the core of the Japanese manufacturing sector.
Mei predicted that The Great East Japan Earthquake will result in accelerating technology transfer from Japan.
"Makers in South Korea and Taiwan are looking for opportunities to win contracts to supply customers that are suffering from parts supply failures from Japan," an executive at a Japanese manufacturer in China said. "We cannot afford to give them any such an opportunity."
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