Toyota Predicts Global Output Will Normalise by December

Toyota Motor Corp.   expects production to return to normal by December at the latest, as the world’s biggest car maker struggles with supply-chain disruptions caused by Japan’s record earthquake and tsunami.

The automaker will begin raising production to regular levels from July in Japan and from August at overseas plants, the company said in a statement   Friday. Output for all models will be normal by November or December, it said.

Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. are working to restore full plant operations in Japan and at factories abroad that are running short of parts. Renesas Electronics Corp., a chipmaker that has 30 percent of the world market for microcontrollers used in cars, said   it will restart a damaged factory ahead of schedule, helping Toyota to form its production plan.

“Renesas has a big impact on the car industry,” said Takeshi Miyao, an analyst at consultant Carnorama. “The announcement must have led Toyota to decide it can normalize by the end of the year.”

Toyota may lose production of 300,000 vehicles in Japan and 100,000 units of overseas auto production through the end of April due to quake-related shutdowns, Executive Vice President Atsushi Niimi told reporters   in Tokyo. The company is unlikely to meet its full-year global production target of 7.7 million units, he said.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda said Friday that about 150 parts are still in critically short supply, mostly of materials including rubber and plastics.

“Unlike previous natural disasters, this one has affected a very large region, affecting the entire Japanese economy across industries,” Toyoda said.

Toyota gained 3.1 percent to 3,295 yen at the   close of trading in Tokyo. The shares have fallen 9.7 percent since March 10, the day before the earthquake.

The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker resumed output at all Japan plants on April 18 at half-capacity.

The company’s North American unit said earlier this week that plants in the region will continue to be closed on Mondays and Fridays and run at 50 percent on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through June 3. Toyota will also shut U.S. plants for one week starting May 30 and in Canada from May 23.

Source : Thisday