Earthquake caused Japan's electronics shortage to end by the end of summer

Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, March 27th After more than half a month from the 9th-magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern part of Japan's sea, equipment damage and power shortage have caused great obstacles to the rapid recovery of production by Japanese companies. Roughly, these companies include: Toyota, Honda, Fuji Heavy Industries, Nissan, Mazda, Suzuki and other auto giants; Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, Nikon, Canon, NEC, and the world's fifth-largest chip maker Japan Renesas Electronics and other electronics giants Global silicon giants Shin-Etsu Chemical Industry; global excavator giants such as Komatsu Construction Industries, Hitachi Construction Machinery and Kobelco Construction Machinery; Nippon Steel, JFE Steel Corporation, and Japan Jamco, which manufactures air kitchens for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

10% of key components rely on Japanese overseas factories imported from Japan are also facing difficulties.

Analysts said that this brief pause means that consumers will soon see the shortage of electronic products and cars in Japan next month, and the shortage will not end until summer.

"Global car production may be reduced by 30%"

Under globalization, the manufacturing supply chain can be described as a whole. For example, automakers in Europe, America and Asia, such as Volkswagen, Volvo, General Motors, Ford Motors, and PSA Peugeot Citroen, have already felt the "vibration" from "Made in Japan" production cuts and production cuts.

According to survey data released by the US investigation company IHS on the 25th, due to the sharp decline in Japanese companies’ production, parts imported from Japan cannot be delivered on time, and it is expected that the world’s auto production will reduce production by 600,000 vehicles by the end of March. If the production of Japanese companies fails to return to normal as soon as possible, after two months of earthquakes, worldwide production of cars may drop by as much as 30%.

According to reports by Japan’s Kyodo News and “Nihon Keizai Shimbun” and other media reports, the US Ford Motor Company has completely stopped orders for black and red passenger vehicles on the 25th, due to difficulties in importing paint from Japan. Due to obstacles in the electronic components imported from Hitachi, the European diesel engine production line of the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group was also directly affected.

Also affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake, the supply of key components such as engines and transmissions could not be supplied. The Dongfeng Nissan Passenger Vehicle Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Dongfeng Motor Co., Ltd., is currently cutting production significantly. The production plan at the Xiangfan plant on the 26th is no longer comparable. One third in peacetime.

"iPad2 is likely to reduce production"

In addition to the automotive industry, the impact of the earthquake in Japan on the electronic product supply chain is also gradually emerging. According to IHS, there are at least five kinds of electronic components produced by Japanese manufacturers for Apple Inc.’s iPad iPad2, which is difficult to deliver on time due to the earthquake, including Toshiba’s flash memory chips and AKM Semiconductor Inc. An electronic compass produced. "In particular, the iPad 2's display can only use products imported from Japan, so it is very likely that production will be reduced."

In addition, Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, also has a shortage of parts imported from Japan, and some production lines may suspend production. In 2010, 15% of Nokia's mobile phone parts were purchased using the yen. Sony Ericsson also revealed that the earthquake may affect its supply chain.

Other multinational companies also warned that their supply chain may be affected by the Japanese earthquake, including chip makers Texas Instruments, Caterpillar, Deere and other machinery giants, British automotive and aerospace component manufacturer GKN, South Korea's Pohang system Iron, as well as shipbuilding giants such as Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries.