Due to parts shortages resulting from an explosion that occurred on January 8 at an Aichi Steel Corporation (Aichi Steel) manufacturing facility, Toyota will suspend all production on its vehicle assembly lines within Japan from February 8 through 13.
Operations are scheduled to recommence on February 15, however vehicle production on lines outside Japan will not be suspended.
Toyota said it was looking at options to minimize the impact of this incident on vehicle production including asking Aichi Steel to produce parts on alternate lines and procuring specialised steel from other steelmakers.
This factory shutdown affects its customers worldwide because Toyota exports nearly half of its production out of Japan. The company produced 4.0 million vehicles in Japan in 2015, roughly 46% of which was exported, according to Reuters.
It produced around 13,600 vehicles a day in December, up 10% from a year earlier, due in part to the start of production of the latest Prius petrol hybrid.
The halt illustrates the risks of Toyota’s “just-in-time” inventory system, under which Toyota receives parts several times a day according to requirements, avoiding the need for excessive inventories.
