Posted on 26 Feb 2021
Japan's domestic car production weakened further in January, pressured by output cuts at some car manufacturers because of a global shortage of semiconductor chips.
Domestic output of passenger cars by the country's eight carmakers fell by 10pc on the year to around 646,000 units in January. The January output was also down by 9pc from December, falling for a third straight month from a high of around 805,000 units last October.
Some Japanese carmakers were forced to curb domestic output during the month in the wake of a shortage of semiconductors.
Car manufacturer Subaru said its global car output and exports from Japan have fallen because of the output curtailment. Subaru temporarily halted domestic car output in mid-January. Carmaker Honda Motor's domestic output declined in January from a year earlier for the first time in five months, while Suzuki Motor reported its first fall in monthly car output in two months.
Japan's biggest carmaker Toyota Motor also said its domestic car output had dropped for the first time in five months compared with year-earlier levels. The company earlier said its output was not affected by the semiconductor shortage.
Toyota's global car output increased by 4pc on the year to around 742,000 units in January because of strong overseas output. Car output in China jumped by 41pc on the year, while production in North America edged up by 2pc.
Toyota today resumed operations at all its car assembly lines in Japan after it was forced to temporarily shut half of them in response to a shortage of car parts caused by a 13 February earthquake that hit Japan's northeast coast. The company's domestic car output was affected for over a week until 24 February.
Japan imposed a second state of emergency in January to contain the spread of Covid-19, raising concerns about an economic slowdown. The country's new passenger car sales increased by 8pc on the year to 208,279 units in January, according to industry group the Japan automobile dealers association.
Source:Argus
