40 Japanese Auto Suppliers In Difficulty

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Nissan Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn says about 40 component suppliers in Japan remain in difficulty after the nations record earthquake, complicating automakers efforts to restart car production.

Electronic components, plastics and rubber are in short supply and will affect Japanese automakers and rivals outside the country, Ghosn, 57, said in a telephone interview. Carmakers are jointly offering stricken component-makers support via Japans automobile manufacturers association, he said.

This is serious and its still difficult to evaluate, Ghosn said late Wednesday. You have the earthquake, you have the tsunami, rolling blackouts, and fuel shortages hitting at the same time, and they arent only hitting the car manufacturers, but also the suppliers and the dealers.

Nissan, Toyota and Honda are struggling to resume domestic production following the magnitude-9.0 earthquake on March 11 killed more than 9,400 people and damaged factories. The nation is also facing electricity shortages after a nuclear-power plant was crippled and disruption to road and rail networks. Nissan declined to name the 40 suppliers.

Once automakers confirm that they have all the necessary parts, they will start and will be quick to catch up, said Takeshi Miyao, an analyst at Carnorama in Tokyo. Still the impact on their production could be about 5 percent down.

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