Japanese automakers say output hit by Chinese snow storms

TOKYO (AFP) - Fierce snow storms in China have disrupted Japanese automakers' production at their joint venture factories there owing to a lack of sufficient parts and workers, the companies said Wednesday.

Industry leader Toyota Motor Corp. stopped the night shift at a joint venture factory in Guangzhou due to delayed arrival of parts, but resumed its operation from Wednesday morning, said company spokeswoman Kayo Doi.

Another factory in Tianjin was shut from Wednesday morning because of problems with the supply of parts, she said, adding that it was unclear how long the disruption would continue.

The storms have also affected Honda Motor Co., which shut its joint venture factory in Guangzhou on Tuesday and another one in Hubei on Wednesday because paint did not arrive on time.

The Guangzhou factory resumed operations on Wednesday, a Honda spokeswoman said.

Nissan Motor Co. also closed its joint venture factories in Guangdong and Hubei provinces on Monday and Tuesday.

Mazda Motor Corp. meanwhile shut its joint venture factory in Nanjing for three days from Monday as the city gave priority for natural gas supplies to homes, discouraging industrial use.

"We use gas for air conditioning of the factory and also for drying paint on our products," said a Mazda spokeswoman.

"We also were hearing that some workers were unable to come to work because of heavy snow. We are continuing to review the situation," she said.

The heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures across China have left more than 50 dead, ravaged power supplies and hit millions of people trying to get home for the Lunar New Year festival, the nation's most important holiday.