Japanese Parts Paralysis: Toyota Europe Up, Honda Brazil Down
The ripple effects of the March 11 tsunami keep bouncing around the globe. The is good news and bad news. (Or bad news and good news, depending on the side you are on.)
Toyota said it will bring all its assembly lines in Europe back to full production by the end of June, The Nikkei [sub]. Five of its nine European plants have been forced to reduce output. Last year, Toyota assembled some 460,000 vehicles in Europe, and by the end of May, European production was cut by some 40,000 vehicles, says The Nikkei.
Meanwhile in Brazil, Honda has to halve production in Sumare, Sao Paulo, beginning next month because of a shortage of parts. According to the Dow Jones Newswire, Honda will cut production from 600 to 300 units per day. Honda is short of unspecified “electronic components.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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What a horrible way to go. It all came down to timing...any number of events leading up to the car being swept away could have changed the outcome.