Due to continuing parts supply problems from Japan, in the wake of the Earthquake and Tsunami; Honda has announced that it is cutting back production of vehicles in North America.

Honda, whose Tochigi operations were badly hampered by the quake; has said that while some of its part suppliers are now up and running again; others have still to resume operations.

As result of ongoing supply chain issues, the company announced to US and Canadian Employees on March 30th, that it would be reducing production output at North American plants. A source said that the Alliston, plant in Ontario, Canada, would cut production from approximately 700 vehicles per day to 400; numbers for other facilities weren’t available at post time.

Honda has said that it is doing everything it can to keep plants operational without extensive interruptions and is working toward resuming full production capacity.

[Source: Honda News]

The March 11 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan has had a devastating effect on its people. Not only have many people lost their homes and loved ones, many companies are out of work as they struggle to get their businesses up and running.

Japan’s major car companies have also been badly hit due to this disaster. Toyota and Honda have still not started their operations, and will stay shut over the weekend, due to a shortage of parts coming from suppliers, which were situated in areas most badly hit by this recent disaster.

Other Japanese car firms have slowly started production, but mainly to finish the cars on the assembly line and make use of the parts that were already in their inventory. Nissan is hoping for a March 24 restart, which includes the Tochigi assembly plant that makes cars like the 370Z and the GT-R.

Mitsubishi has resumed production, but says it has parts to last them up to Wednesday, and will suspend production until the supplier issue is solved. Mazda, Suzuki and Subaru are in an identical situation.

Let’s all hope the nation of Japan and its people recover from this catastrophe and rebuild their homes and industry as soon as possible.

[Source: Automotive News]

The ongoing crisis in Japan is continuing to impact automakers and the entire industry, even American companies. Japanese suppliers of the Chevrolet Volt’s transmission have been disrupted by the nuclear situation, which has a chance to delay production of the hot-selling electric car.

The Japanese plant that builds the high-tech transmission has been shut down in the wake of the earthquake and nuclear crisis. GM is not sure how long they’ll be able to receive the transmissions from Japan, and isn’t willing to count on an uninterrupted supply as they had enjoyed from before.

But as of now, Volt production has not witnessed any hiccups. “Volt production is currently not impacted by the crisis in Japan,” said Rob Peterson, GM spokesman. “We continue to monitor the situation closely as we do for all GM products.”

[Source: Inside Line]

Given the recent events in Japan, it may not be entirely surprising that there are greater priorities than building fast supercars. As such, shipments of the 2012 Nissan GT-R to America have been delayed as the country struggles to rebuild after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Nissan North America reports that there is a “sufficient supply” of 2012 GT-Rs that have already been shipped to the US, but would not reveal precisely how many. The 2012 GT-R officially went on sale a few weeks ago.  The Tochigi Plant, where the GT-R is built, has reported some damage to the building and equipment, and has suspended operations until Friday.

Nissan issued a statement on Monday declaring that “some Infiniti models and Nissan GT-R and 370Z may experience delays in shipment to the U.S. and Canada, with full impact still being assessed,” but their plans for the New York Auto Show are still on schedule.

A shipment of 600 Nissan Leafs left Japan just before the earthquake, and are on their way to the US safely, just in time to help fulfill its massive demand.

[Source: Inside Line]