Many companies are suffering from the tsunami in Japan and the effects of the tsunami are hitting hard and fast already to the U.S. just 11 days after the event. Car manufacturing is one industry that many people are worried about. Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda have been greatly affected by the tsunami because Japan is where their companies are based. These three companies have had to cope with many major production challenges from the tsunami because many factories were destroyed, which ultimately is slowing production of their cars across the world. Toyota said Tuesday that it has to extended vehicle production shutdowns through Saturday, and they have not yet decided when the normal operations of vehicle manufacturing will continue at a normal pace. Honda is also extending their shutdowns through Sunday. The situation with General Motors shows how fast the production problems are hitting after the tsunami. General Motors is temporarily stopping their plant in Louisiana because manufactures and suppliers in both Japan and America have slowed down their production, and therefore temporarily stopping production for Genral Motors. In response, General Motors is laying of workers in it’s Buffalo, NY location because of such a shortage in supply and to compensate for the money they will loose in this time of slow, or no production. According to one research firm the short supply concerns are leading to higher prices for imported cars, such as the Toyota Prius and at the same time the consumers are demanding more fuel-efficient cars because of the high gas prices. This shortage could give way for other manufactures to take advantage in the small car market. With many companies suffering from lack of production because of the tsunami, the other companies are being given the opportunity to get in the game. The shortage in supplies will increase prices of the fuel-efficient cars but there is a quantity demand for fuel-efficient cars, due to gas prices.
- Analisa