Japanese Parts Paralysis: Toyota Drowns In A Sea Of Red Pins

After the March 11 quake, when the office buildings stopped shaking, Toyota told its 500 staffers in Purchasing to contact suppliers. Each damaged supplier received a red pin on a large map of northeastern Japan. Soon, the map was swamped by a tsunami of red pins. Some suppliers “suffered the complete destruction of their factories,” writes The Nikkei [sub], “and were unable to determine how many of their employees were still alive.”

With more than 10,000 dead, more than 16,000 missing, and whole towns razed in the Tohoku area, many shops are now believed to be at the bottom of the furious sea.

“The word ‘ordeal’ does not even convey the gravity of the situation,” Toyota President Akio Toyoda says. Toyoda and Toyota had braved the global financial crisis, and massive vehicle recalls. The impact of the record quake and resulting tsunami “totally dwarfed them all,” says Toyoda.

A Fukushima supplier sent an e-mail, regretting that the company “will no longer be able to fill Toyota’s orders. Please find another supplier.” In a gesture of surrender with honor, the supplier offered its trade secrets to a new company that is able to deliver.

Last Thursday, the flood on the map had somewhat receded, and the number of red pins on the map was down to one third. Even one pin can stop the line. Currently, Toyota is short at least 500 items, mostly electronic and rubber parts, the Japanese edition of Reuters says.

Yesterday, Toyota restarted the production of the Prius and two Lexus hybrids – at 50 percent capacity. Other cars will follow gradually by mid-April or later, if and when materials and parts become available.

Other car companies suffer similarly. Even after repairs have been made and new suppliers have been found, power outages will plague the industry for the rest of the year, possibly longer.

The word ‘ordeal’ does not even convey the gravity of the situation.