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Tokyo - Toyota Motor Corp is likely to suspend all manufacturing operations at its North American plants in late April due to a shortage of parts triggered by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, news reports said Monday.
The scale and the duration of the expected shutdown have yet to be decided, but all of Toyota's 14 factories in North America could be affected, Kyodo News reported citing unnamed company officials. The officials added that the decision was not finalized.
"We have communicated to team members, associates and dealers here that some production interruptions in North America are likely. It's too early to predict location or duration," Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc said in a statement Monday.
Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, has already shut down overtime output and operations on Saturdays at its North American factories following the disaster which hit north-eastern Japan. But it has continued to operate using existing inventories during normal hours, Kyodo said.
Toyota has apparently judged that continuing production during normal hours would be difficult as parts manufacturers in Japan have been lagging behind in recovering output, Kyodo said.
The decision is expected to affect the carmaker's new vehicle sales in the United States, its major market.
The scale and the duration of the expected shutdown have yet to be decided, but all of Toyota's 14 factories in North America could be affected, Kyodo News reported citing unnamed company officials. The officials added that the decision was not finalized.
"We have communicated to team members, associates and dealers here that some production interruptions in North America are likely. It's too early to predict location or duration," Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc said in a statement Monday.
Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, has already shut down overtime output and operations on Saturdays at its North American factories following the disaster which hit north-eastern Japan. But it has continued to operate using existing inventories during normal hours, Kyodo said.
Toyota has apparently judged that continuing production during normal hours would be difficult as parts manufacturers in Japan have been lagging behind in recovering output, Kyodo said.
The decision is expected to affect the carmaker's new vehicle sales in the United States, its major market.
