Honda Production Returns to Normal in December. Resourcing Components Helps Ongoing Thailand Flood Disruptions

Honda automobile production in Japan and North America will resume Normal levels by the end of the first week of December, Japan’s third largest automaker said this morning. All of Honda’s North American plants will resume normal production by December 1, 2011, with some plants resuming normal production in late November.  A combination of re-sourcing parts outside of Thailand and aiding suppliers in Thailand after the worst floods in decades is responsible for easing the crisis.

American Honda posted October sales of 98,333 vehicles, an increase of 3%. Total Honda and Acura year-to-date sales reached 958,130, down 5.3% because of production disruption caused by the Japan earthquake. Honda Division posted October sales of 87,218, an increase of 3.2% versus October 2010. Like Toyota, Honda Dealers are selling or “turning” vehicles on their lots after 30 days far faster than the industry average rate of roughly 50 days.

Flood water draining is now completed at Honda Automobile (Thailand) Company. HATC, the Honda automobile production subsidiary in Thailand said today cleaning of the facilities is underway.

In Japan the Suzuka and Saitama plants that have been under-producing since 7 November 2011 due to restricted parts supply from Thailand, will normalize production on December 5, 2011.

Six automobile production plants in the U.S. and Canada, also with restricted output since 2 November 2011, due to restricted parts supply, will normalize production on 1 December.

However, production plans from January 2012 onward are not confirmed. In a statement, said Honda it will make decisions while carefully monitoring the parts supply situation.

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About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, publisher (kzhw@aol.com), is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. Zino is at home on test tracks, knows his way around U.S. Congressional hearing rooms, auto company headquarters, plant floors, as well as industry research and development labs where the real mobility work is done. He can quote from court decisions, refer to instrumented road tests, analyze financial results, and profile executive personalities and corporate cultures. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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