Japanese automakers were forced to suspend operations due to the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that rattled Kyushu Island last week. While most have since resumed operations, some part suppliers are still struggling. This is assumed to further hamper production, with some brands acknowledging that they cannot yet confirm a full recovery.
Southern Japan sustained severe damage July 28 due to the quake. Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi all confirmed they suspended production to cope with the situation. Not only were numerous facilities showing signs of damage, the companies noted that they would need to carefully inspect all sites before they could safely return to doing business.
Automakers issued daily progress reports indicating that the recovery was going smoothly. But there were concerns that the supply chain could be temporarily disrupted. Even though corporate updates showed that things were progressing well for the automakers, regional supply chains had still been paused and would need time to stabilize. This was further compounded by the fact that not all suppliers were equally fortunate during the earthquake.
Mitsubishi was the first company to announce a return to normal on Aug. 5.
While Toyota’s facilities in the Fukuoka prefecture saw a relatively quick turnaround, many of which had resumed operations by the end of July, other plants needed extensive repairs. The same was true for Nissan. But both automakers confirmed Aug. 6 that the recovery phase was basically over. Manufacturing had resumed and all the major repairs had been completed.
Honda has been less fortunate, however. The automaker announced two of its Japanese assembly plants would remain idle until Aug. 19. This was since verified by Automotive News, with CFO Masao Kawaguchi hesitant to give a firm timeline due to several suppliers having been knocked out.
Much of the damage pertained specifically to Honda’s motorcycle assembly, with one plant effectively becoming flooded after water lines had ruptured during the quake. However, auto parts facilities had likewise endured severe damage to their infrastructure. This included at least one Astemo plant that had its electricity and gas services totally knocked out.
The good news is that Honda believes that none of the above should have much of an impact on the American side of the business (save for the imported Honda Civic Type R). Due to regional production having been largely localized within North America, the company doesn’t anticipate many setbacks taking place on the Western market.
However, the same cannot be said for Japanese motorcycle brands. Many are currently undergoing repairs and have suppliers that are still down for the count. There are concerns that this could temporarily stifle the global supply of select models from Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki.
Automakers look to be in far better shape overall. But the production setbacks may yet cause problems. Temporary plant closures are assumed to have resulted in the Japanese automakers seeing an estimated production shortfall of between 20,000 and 60,000 vehicles. Persistent supply chain issues may increase those numbers through the rest of 2026.
Even though Aisin Corp. may have enjoyed a relatively quick recovery phase, the quake has still put it behind schedule in terms of parts supply. This runs the risk of creating bottlenecks for several automakers. Japan’s aluminum and semiconductor supply was also reported to have taken a hit.
Numerous microchip plants based in southern Japan were reported as non-operational until Aug. 5. Based upon local reports, this included facilities owned by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Mitsubishi Electric — both of which supply the automotive sector.
Aluminum supplies were already alleged to be a bit of a sore spot for the industry. The current concern is that damage to select facilities and production downtime will result in downstream procurement issues for the next few months. At a minimum, it’s expected that this would create a speculative price bump. However, some appear worried that there could also be temporary supply shortages.
Considering the magnitude of the earthquake, things certainly could have been worse. Even though some of the supply chain concerns could have global ramifications, the brunt of the problems seem to be isolated to Japan and nearby markets. Since the area looks to be recovering quickly, with notable exceptions, analysts are treating this as more of an industrial hiccup than something truly dire.
[Images: aapsky/Shutterstock; ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock; yu_photo/Shutterstock; JRomero04/Shutterstock]
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via Autobuzz Today
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