According to the Wall Street Journal, Japan's largest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. plans to shut down most of its plants in the country. The plants will not operate for several days due to a parts shortage caused by a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit eastern Japan last Wednesday, March 16.
Last Friday, March 18, the Japanese car maker said that some of its suppliers were affected by the earthquake and unable to deliver enough parts. Toyota executives did not name these companies. At the same time, Renesas Electronics Corp., a major microchip manufacturer, confirmed that its plants in the area of the earthquake would not resume production.
The shutdown of Toyota's factories affected production of some of its popular models, including the RAV4 sport utility vehicle. Notably, from March 14 to 18, the company lowered its forecast for car output by 50,000 units. Later, Toyota cut its production plans by 150,000 units for April. Moreover, the company disclosed that further cuts were likely in May and June.
Japan’s automaker said that it was revising its production plans to better fit current market realities.
