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The parts supply problem for Japanese cars has extended from new cars to the one you may be driving:nike running shoes  Toyota is rationing repair parts for its dealers in the U.S.

 

 

The company has told dealers that "approximately 233 part numbers, out of over 300,000 active part numbers, have been placed on controlled allocation." Toyota asked dealers not to stock up on those parts, but to order only "what is critically needed to support customer emergency" repairs. The shortage is being caused by the shutdown of suppliers due to Japan's earthquake and tsumani. The move is being made to prevent dealers for ordering excess inventory out of fears that shortages could develop on critical parts that they use a lot, like an engine drive belt.

 

 

Toyota won't say which exact parts are involved in the recall, but spokesman Brian Lyons confirms to Drive On that parts needed to make repairs on Toyota's many highly publicized recalls are not involved.

The company also has told workers to expect "some production interruptions" at its 13 North American vehicle assembly and engine plants due to problems obtaining parts from Japan.

The announcements were the latest indication that problems may get worse before they get better for Japanese brands in the U.S. due the ongoing crisis in Japan:buy Reebok ZigTech online

-- Drive On reported earlier that starting tomorrow Honda "will begin to adjust production levels" at most of its North American factories, cutting hours at some plants in half.

-- Subaru plans to cut shifts in half on Wednesday, to four hours, at its Lafayette, Ind., plant to conserve parts.

-- Nissan says parts inventories are OK for now, but it will have to reassess North American production on Friday.

"Teams are working 24/7 to make a detailed assessment of the situation. A car is about 30,000 parts and we have more than 60 cars in the (global) portfolio, so you can imagine the size of the puzzle," says Carlos Tavares, head of Nissan operations in the Americas.

Toyota said it can't predict yet how deeply it might have to cut production at its 13 North American engine and vehicle plants and which plants will be most affected.

"We have no idea how bad this really is. The one thing I'm absolutely certain of is that everything is completely uncertain," says Rebecca Lindland, veteran auto analyst at consultants IHS Automotive.

The shortages have hurt Detroit automakers, too. General Motors temporarily closed a pickup factory at Shreveport, La., and a related engine line in Buffalo, N.Y., for lack of undisclosed parts from Japan.online, buy Fivefingers Kso-Vibram fivefingers Kso online

Ford Motor and Chrysler Group told dealers to expect shortages of vehicles in certain paint colors because they use a pigments that come only from a supplier in Japan.

European automakers also use some Japan-only components.

Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said he couldn't forecast production schedules after next week because of possible shortages.

Adding to industrywide vulnerability is cost-cutting maneuver called "single sourcing." An automaker will place its entire order for a component with one supplier, trading maximum volume for a rock-bottom price.

In such cases, it doesn't matter if the finished vehicles are made in North America, only that a key part, often electronic, comes from Japan.