(March 22, 2011) Every major automaker worldwide will be affected by the disaster in Japan by mid-to-late April, according to a report released Monday by automotive forecasters IHS Global Insight.

"It is not a matter of if, but when," said Michael Robinet, IHS's Director of Automotive Forecast, in an analysis of the impact of the disaster that halted domestic vehicle production and affected the parts supply chain.

IHS calculates Japan's lost production at more than 337,000 vehicles by the end of this week — because all plants in that country have been idled since the quake — and 450,000 by the end of March, if all remain closed.

The daily production loss is about 37,000 cars and trucks. This week, Toyota and Nissan plan to gingerly resume production of components for overseas plants and later in the week restart vehicle assembly in Japan.


Source: The Detroit News