Toyota, Honda global output halved after quake

Production at Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co is likely to
recover more quickly than initially feared after Japan's massive
earthquake wreaked havoc with their supply chains and halved output in
April. Japanese automakers have been plagued by shortages of hundreds
of components after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami damaged
factories in Japan's northeast, and have said they expect to lose
significant share in some markets as a result. But their public
predictions of a recovery to pre-quake production levels late this
year are increasingly seen as conservative. 'April is likely to be the
bottom and we might see back-to-normal production levels in July or
August,' said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities.
'Some parts suppliers say they are resuming full production in June in
time for automakers' summer operations. And the widely anticipated
disruption in power supply during summer is not likely to have a big
impact on production,' he said. Toyota, which is this year set to lose
its crown as the world's biggest automaker, said its global output
tumbled 47.8 per cent in April versus a year ago to 3,08,555 vehicles.
Honda said its production fell by 52.9 per cent, while Nissan Motor Co
logged a 22.4 per cent decline. The Nikkei business daily said on
Friday that domestic output for Nissan is expected to return to normal
levels in June while Toyota's is likely to rise to 90 per cent of
normal levels. Officials at Toyota and Nissan said the report was not
based on company announcements and their plans have not changed.
Toyota has said it expects its production at home and overseas to be
around 70 per cent of normal levels in June while Nissan has said it
expects a recovery to full-capacity production globally in October.
Honda expects a recovery by the year end but has also said that this
was a worst-case scenario. It said on Thursday it said its North
American assembly plants will not reach full production until August
for most vehicles, and the high-volume Civic compact car will take
even longer.
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