Japan’s Power Crisis Affects Japanese, US Automakers

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
April 12, 2011 at 2:25 am

Japan's Toyota Motor company has warned its U.S. dealerships that they may face a shortage of new vehicle supplies during the next few months as the natural disasters in Japan last month affected the nation's auto industry.

Toyota said in a memo to the dealers Monday that its vehicle production volume will be uncertain at least until July.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Company said Monday it will reduce production of some models at plants in the Asia-Pacific region in the last week of April and early May because of the shortage of parts.

The statements are seen as a sign of wider vehicle output disruptions because of a reduced supply of key parts, such as semiconductors, made in Japan. The country's major auto part makers have worked at reduced capacity due to power shortages caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Toyota's U.S. general manager Bob Carter has said the current inventory of 300,000 vehicles available in the United States is expected to get tighter.

Both Toyota and Ford have already started reducing vehicle output temporarily in some plants.