Japan's top automaker has halted production at its three plants in Thailand‏

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Toyota aims to restore Japan output early 2012: source | Reuters

Toyota aims to restore Japan output early 2012: source



By Kentaro Sugiyama
TOKYO | Wed Nov 9, 2011 3:38am EST

(Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) has told its parts suppliers it aims to return to normal production levels in Japan in early 2012, restoring output that has been hit by the impact of Thai floods, a source familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
A Toyota spokeswoman declined to comment on the plans.
Japan's top automaker has halted production at its three plants in Thailand, its Southeast Asia production hub, since October 10 after flooding affected suppliers, forcing it to reduce production domestically from October 24, with output currently at 70 to 80 percent of planned levels. [ID:nL4E7M80OZ]
Toyota aims to secure alternative parts by the end of this year and boost output back to originally planned levels at the start of 2012, the source said.
The source added that Toyota was also looking at how it might be able to restore production at overseas plants at about the same pace as its recovery in Japan.
The plan is in line with analysts' expectations of a relatively swift restoration of production after Toyota said the disruption would not be as severe as the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
"Our view was that it would take 1.5-2 months to resolve supply chain problems caused by flooding in Thailand," Bank of America Merrill Lynch auto analyst Takaki Nakanishi wrote in a research note.
"Our impression was that the company would make back much of the production lost in October-December before the end of the business year (on March 31)."
Toyota has said the supply of about 100 parts has been disrupted by the Thai floods, primary resin, casting and electronic parts.
One major bottleneck for automakers has been the halt in chip supplies made by Japan's Rohm Co (6963.OS), which supplies chips to automakers' tier-one parts makers such as Denso Corp (6902.T) and Aisin Seiki Co (7259.T).
Rohm said on Wednesday it aimed to restore production at its flooded Thai factories in December, with a return to full output in February.
Nomura Securities analyst Masataka Kunugimoto said he was assuming the floods would cut Toyota's output by a total of 250,000 vehicles in the year to March. Toyota has estimated an output loss of about 150,000 vehicles globally between October 10 and November 12.
Expectations of a relatively quick end to Toyota's supply problems leave just Honda Motor Co (7267.T) struggling to regain its footing.
Honda's car factory in the industrial estate in Ayutthaya is under water, unlike plants of other automakers, and the company has said it could take until March to restart production there.
Separately on Wednesday, Toyota announced a recall of 550,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles globally, primarily in North America, to replace the crankshaft pulley on their engines. No accidents have been reported as a result of the defect.
The vehicles subject to the recalls, including certain Camrys, Avalons, Seinnas and Lexus RX330s, were produced between June 2004 and March 2005.
Shares of Toyota ended up 1.6 percent at 2,542 yen, roughly in line with the Tokyo's TOPIX .TOPX index.
(Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim in Tokyo and Yoshiyuki Osada in Osaka; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Matt Driskill)