The global auto industry, hindered by a shortage of parts from key factories in Japan after last month’s earthquake and tsunami, is still struggling to maintain steady production.
Toyota, Nissan and Honda announced Friday that they would soon resume limited production at their plants in Japan, which have been shuttered off and on since the March 11 disaster.
Toyota, whose operations in Japan build nearly half the vehicles the company sells worldwide, said it would run its Japanese plants at half the normal capacity from April 18 through 27. The factories will then be closed for their regular spring holiday through May 10. No decision has been made about whether, and to what extent, operations will resume after the spring vacation, Toyota said.
Nissan and Honda also announced that their closed factories would soon reopen, also at half capacity.
Toyota also announced temporary shutdowns at U.S. operations. The company said Friday that it would close its Georgetown, Ky., plant for four days this month and its other North American plants for five days.
It did not rule out additional closures, saying it would determine future production schedules later. The shutdowns affect 25,000 workers, who can report for training or plant improvement activities or take vacation time, Toyota said.
Ford Motor said a Kentucky truck plant that was closed this week to conserve parts would reopen Monday. A Ford plant in Belgium that was shut also is scheduled to resume work next week. Ford is dealing with a shortage of a metallic pigment that comes from a plant in the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.