Toyota Sends Relief Convoy Up North. Everybody O.K.

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

For days, Toyota had no word from its plants in the northern Japan quake zone. Many communities in the region are still cut off. Over the weekend, Toyota sent two truck convoys up north. On Sunday, a convoy of six water tankers, two fuel tankers and nine cargo trucks reached the area which now suffers wet weather and below freezing temperatures. A second convoy arrived on Monday.

Toyota spokesman Paul Nolasco doesn’t have any reports of injuries and says that “everybody is safe.”

The most severe damage in Japan was caused by the tsunami. Toyota’s factories are away from the shore on higher ground. They are only slightly damaged.

Automotive News [sub] says that the factory in Ohira suffered damage to its wall and some pipes but had no major structural or equipment problems. Toyota’s Kanto Auto plant had some of its stamping machines displaced. The Ohira plant makes the Yaris small car for export to the United States. Kanto Auto makes the Yaris sedan, as well as the Scion XB and Scion XD for the U.S. market.

Primearth EV Energy Co., a joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic, is reported as severely damaged. This factory makes batteries for Toyota hybrids. Another nickel-metal hydride battery factory run by Primearth EV Energy in central Japan is undamaged.

Toyota has suspended all 28 manufacturing sites in Japan through at least Wednesday.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

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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 4 comments
  • Twotone Twotone on Mar 15, 2011

    It's great to see companies take care of their people. Wish we had more of that here.

  • ClutchCarGo ClutchCarGo on Mar 15, 2011

    Now the big question is the ports. How long till they can ship goods in and out of northern Japan?

    • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Mar 15, 2011

      The ports probably suffered the worst damage, with the tsunami first smashing through, then sucking debris back to the coast when it withdrew. When they're back in operation, they'll likely be shipping more goods in than out, first for survivors' daily needs, then for reconstruction. There will have to be reliance on undamaged ports to help carry the load for quite some time. Just look at the videos again - there are no quick fixes for damage on that scale.

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