Production disruption
Kumamoto earthquake halts Japan car and chip plants
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake in Kyushu forced Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi to halt vehicle production, while semiconductor fabs run by TSMC, Sony and Renesas also suspended operations as manufacturers work to restore output.
During the early hours of the morning on July 28, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on Japan's Kyushu island. As well as leaving at least 13 people dead and more injured, the earthquake caused damage to infrastructure and caused a loss of power in buildings throughout the island.
Impact on OEMs
Several automotive manufacturers were forced to halt production at facilities in Japan as a result of the natural disaster. Toyota confirmed it would suspend operations at three plants in Kyushu: its Miyata, Kanda and Kokura plants.
Production was initially halted at these three facilities from July 28 to the morning of July 29, but the shutdown was extended through to July 31, with Reuters later reporting that the three plants would remain offline through 5 August. According to Reuters, Toyota also suspended production at a fourth plant in Japan in early August due to supplier shortages.
"The situation, including aftershocks and recovery efforts, is changing daily," Toyota said in a statement in late July.
Toyota was not the only OEM to have its operations in Japan affected by the Kumamoto earthquake. Nissan confirmed on July 31 that it would be partially suspending production at its two Kyushu vehicle plants because of delays in parts deliveries caused by the earthquake's impact on suppliers and logistics.
Meanwhile, Honda suspended production at its Kumamoto motorcycle factory in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake to inspect its facilities and carry out repairs. This shutdown continued through the end of July as inspections and repair work continued. And although it did not immediately shut down production in Japan, Mitsubishi confirmed on July 31 that it would be halting some production at its Okayama vehicle plant.
It has been reported that Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi have now resumed operations at the affected facilities, while it is understood that Honda will have an extended shutdown of its two assembly plants in Japan as it deals with supplier bottlenecks; Automotive Logistics has contacted these OEMs for further comment.
Chip supply chains also affected
In addition to disruption to Japan's automotive supply chain, the earthquake also affected chip production in the region as Kumamoto is home to a number of semiconductor fabs operated by some of the world's biggest chipmakers.
Staff at the Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing (JASM) – the Japanese unit of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) – fab in Kumamoto were evacuated after the earthquake. Confirming the safety of all personnel, TSMC noted afterwards that it was inspecting facilities and assessing the impact of the earthquake.
Sony also evacuated employees from its Kumamoto semiconductor manufacturing facility, temporarily halting operations and outlining a schedule to resume operations in stages from August 4, expecting to return to its pre-earthquake operating level by mid-August.
Another chipmaker, Renesas, also halted operations at its two plants in the prefecture, which had suffered fallen ceiling panels, cracks in walls and some water leaks. Production resumed in a phased approach from July 29 at Renesas' Nishiki factory, returning to pre-earthquake production capacity on July 31. Meanwhile, production at its Kawashiri factory resumed in phases from August 4 – one day earlier than initially expected. Renesas is targeting restoring pre-earthquake production capacity at the Kawashiri site within approximately three weeks of the production restart.
