The Columbus Dispatch - Honda assembly plants in Ohio will begin to have “temporary interruptions” on April 4 because of issues related to the Japan earthquake and tsunami.
The automaker announced the decision Friday evening, marking a change from previous statements that North American production was continuing as normal. The shutdowns, which could stop and start during the next few weeks, are because of concerns about the supply of parts from Japan.
Honda is a major employer in Ohio, with about 13,500 employees, including assembly plants in Marysville and East Liberty.
The company does not yet know how much of its production might be halted, the duration or how the changes will affect employees.
“That will be determined,” spokesman Ron Lietzke said.
Previously, when Honda has canceled production days, it offered employees the chance to report to work for nonproduction duties, or take vacation or unpaid time. That is a possibility for the upcoming interruptions, but the company will first need to get a better idea of how many production lines might be idled, he said.
Honda produces the Accord, CR-V and Acura TL in Ohio. All North American production will be affected by Friday’s announcement, including Honda plants in Indiana, Alabama, Mexico and Canada.
In Japan, Honda is gradually recovering from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The damage was greatest in the Tochigi area, where one employee died and 30 were injured.
The company has issued a series of delays at its Japan-based plants while it contacts parts suppliers to get an idea of when parts shipments will resume. Several of those plants have resumed at least some production.
“Concerning operations from April 4 on, Honda will make decisions based on the status of the recovery of Japanese society as a whole as well as the supply of parts,” the company said Friday in a statement about its Japan operations.
Other Japan-based automakers are going through their own version of this. For example, Toyota said on Thursday that it would resume production of the Prius and two Lexus hybrids.
So far, news of the crisis does not seem to have affected car sales in the United States, either by inciting panic about shortages of certain models or contributing to concerns about vehicle quality, according to a report from Edmunds.com.
“Our shopping and sales data are telling us that not even this devastating earthquake was able to shake consumer confidence in Japanese cars,” Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at Edmunds, said in a statement. “In fact, the natural disasters may actually strengthen the determination of consumers to remain loyal to their Japanese brands.”
