Japan Car Production Returning To Normal
TOKYO (WWJ) Japanese car companies are showing signs of bouncing back from the production slowdowns that followed March's earthquake and tsunami.
Toyota's domestic production in May was down 54.4 per cent. That's an improvement from the 80 per cent drop in April. Honda and Nissan are showing similar patterns of recovery, with Nissan rebounding better than most of its competitors.
"There's no doubt that the industry has really rallied together to look for new solutions," said Michael Robinet, director of global forecasting at the consulting firm IHS Automotive.
Despite the signs of improvement, Japanese carmakers have warned analysts that their profits will be seriously impacted by the quake.
"Vehicle manufacturers make money when they build vehicles," said Robinet. "Certainly the reduced output that they saw through March and April and May, and some manufacturers into June is certainly going to hit the financial picture."
With a global supply chain, even American carmakers were dealing with parts shortages early in the crisis. But, many companies pulled ahead planned shutdowns and found new suppliers, limiting the damage.
As production of parts and vehicles starts to return to normal, hard to get vehicles, like Toyota's Prius, will start becoming more available. Bu,t analysts say that could take a while, slowing summer car sales.
Robinet says the full recovery is probably still a few months away.
"We're looking at probably the August to September time frame to get the entire industry up to speed."
