Toyota To Resume Thai Production, Honda Remains Closed
Toyota announced today that it will resume production in Thailand on November 21. Full scale production probably is a while away. At a visit to Thailand, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda said that “Toyota is starting to get a firm grasp of the situation and would like to restart production as soon as possible.” This does not mean that it is business as usual yet.
Reuters says that Toyota told its parts suppliers that normal production levels should be reached in Japan by early 2012, when the negative effects of the Thai floods should be over. This is based on an unofficial source, Toyota declined to comment when Reuters asked.
According to the information gathered by Reuters, Toyota wants to have alternative parts supplies by the end of this year and boost output back to originally planned levels at the start of 2012.
Rohm, a key electronics manufacturer that supplies Honda, Suzuki and other automakers, had to halt its Thai production, The Nikkei [sub] says. Its is now trying to switch production to the Philippines and South Korea.
Honda’s plant in Thailand remains submerged. According to a survey by The Nikkei [sub], more than 20 percent of the Japanese-made machine tools in service in Thailand have been damaged.
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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was in the local Toyota dealership yesterday and the sales guy said 2012 RAV4 won't be in until Feb. Sounds about right around when the production would be back to normal. Wonder when Honda will be on their feet again.