Japanese automakers idle more plants

March 15, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT

Japanese automakers idled more plants at least for the next few days as the government rolled out an energy-conservation policy and supply chains are disrupted in the wake of Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.

The depth of the post- tsunami damage still was being assessed.

Over the weekend, Tokyo Electric Power Co. warned of massive rolling blackouts through much of the country, including central Tokyo. Most businesses responded with self-imposed restraint on power use, particularly at night when shortages are expected to be most acute.

Since Saturday, cooling systems malfunctioned at three separate reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

The crisis deepened today when a third explosion in four days rocked the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in northeast Japan, the country’s nuclear-safety agency said.

Toyota Motor Corp. is idling all manufacturing plants through Wednesday, which means 40,000 vehicles won’t be assembled. The automakers’ wholly owned factories west of Tokyo sustained little or no damage. But four plants in northern Japan, including the Central Motor plant in Miyagi, where Toyota makes the Yaris subcompact, and the Kanto Auto Works Iwate plant, where it assembles the Scion xB and xD models, were forced to halt production in the tsunami’s wake.

Toyota donated about $3.7 million for relief-and- recovery efforts.

Nissan Motor Co. is contributing about $367,000 to those efforts and is studying additional relief efforts, including giving trucks and forklifts, medical supplies, blankets, respiratory masks and other first-aid provisions.

Production at Nissan’s Tochigi and Iwaki plants is suspended until Friday. Four other plants — Oppama, Kyushu, Nissan Shatai and Yokohama — will be idle until Wednesday.

Honda Motor Co. on Friday closed its Tochigi research center north of Tokyo, where one employee was killed when a collapsing cafeteria wall fell on him. On Monday, the company said the Tochigi powertrain plant, as well as the Sayama assembly plant, where it makes the CR-V, Accord, Fit, Acura RL and TSX, and its Ogawa engine plant will close until Sunday.

Honda also has stopped production of the Fit, Civic, Civic hybrid, Insight and CR-Z at its Suzuka plant. A transmission and engine plant in Hamamatsu also was closed until Sunday.

Suzuki Motor Corp. is idling all factories through Thursday. Subaru said it planned to resume production Monday.