Toyota To Shut Down American Plants

The earthquake in Japan has caused industry experts to lower their ratings for Toyota. In the wake of this, along with the anemic economy, and the  recall issues last year, Toyota can’t seem to catch a break. They just announced plans to shutdown their North American plants. Toyota claims the parts shortage due to the disaster in Japan has caused this move at least in part. They indicate that the North American manufacturing should begin shutting down as early as late April.
This is not only devastating news to all those employees directly effected by the shutdowns, but also local businesses that offer support. A wide variety of support businesses will be effected by this unfortunate occurrence. Everyone from local cleaning companies who clean the offices of the American facilities, to vendors who supply food and drink to the staff, to parts suppliers, and even the local municipalities who rely on the property taxes that they pay.
Others effected would be Toyota car owners. They may have difficulty getting parts for their cars. When they have their vehicle up on a Car Lift, and they’re waiting for a component to get the job done, it’s a hassle for everybody involved. Of course any time there is a shortage of parts, there’s also a possibility of pricing increases as well.
One other concern is a shortage of new Toyota automobiles. Some vehicles will be affected more than others. For instance the Prius is almost completely manufactured in Japan. Toyota is working on solutions to this problem but it will be slow going for the immediate future.
This tragic event shows there are many repercussions to a local event like this in this new global economy that spread well beyond it’s own borders.