Audi, Toyota and Suzuki are a few of the carmakers which have had to pause production or are planning to, due to a shortage in the supply of semiconductors, which is affecting the automotive industry globally.
In Japan, Suzuki Motor announced it is planning to temporarily halt operations at some of its factories in June owing to a global shortage of semiconductors which is continuing to blight Japanese and foreign automakers alike, Xinhua reported on Monday (May 24). According to the Shizuoka-based automaker, three of its plants in the prefecture on central Honshu’s Pacific coast could be shut down for up to nine days next month. This follows Suzuki being forced to suspend some operations at plants in April and May due to the global chip crunch.
Toyota Motor East Japan has also announced it will stop production at the Iwate plant for eight days between June 7-22, while its Miyagi Ohira plant will stop production on June 9-11.
Whilst in Germany, Audi confirmed that it will be putting 10,000 of its employees working at the Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm assembly plants in Germany on reduced hours in June.
Automotive Logistics has reported that Priority Freight transported two tonnes of automotive parts from suppliers in China to an unnamed OEM customer in Spain. The time-critical logistics provider ensured the delivery of the parts, which came from two different manufacturing sites in Tianjin, in 48 hours.
The shortage is a consequence of various factors, including the impact of COVID-19 on production in the first half of 2020 as well as manufacturing investment, a recent fire in a semiconductor manufacturing plant in Japan, has added to the issue.
Source: Automotive Logistics/Xinhua
