TOKYO (AP) — Toyota Motor Corp. is trimming production this week at its group assembly plants in Japan due to a shortage of parts from suppliers in Thailand, where severe flooding has disrupted its supply chain.
Toyota official Shiori Hashimoto said Wednesday that Japan's biggest automaker has suspended overtime work from Monday to Friday at four Toyota factories and seven group companies that assemble cars and trucks. The company estimates it will lose 6,300 units due to the cutback, she said.
That's on top of the estimated 37,500 units in lost output through Oct. 21 from its three Thai assembly plants, which have been shut down since Oct. 10. They will remain suspended until Friday, Hashimoto said.
Thailand, where Toyota's pickup trucks are enormously popular, is a key production hub for the company. Its parts factory there has reduced shipments. The biggest disruptions in Japan are coming from Thai parts suppliers, she said.
Another Japanese car maker, Honda Motor Co., has temporarily ceased production at its Malaysian factory due to parts shortages.
The floods forced a halt to Honda and Toyota plants in Thailand two weeks ago that account for about 7 percent of their combined global car production.
The disruption comes just as Toyota and Honda bounce back from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that destroyed autos parts suppliers.
Thai authorities warned that the capital could be swamped by up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water if flood barriers fail. Bangkok's second-biggest airport was shut down by the flooding, and the government declared a five-day public holiday starting Tuesday in affected areas to deal with the disaster.