CRISIS IN PROGRESS: Car Makers Around The World Have Stopped Production…

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Right now, the world is currently experiencing an unprecedented microchips shortage that shows no signs of being resolved any time soon. This shortage is causing billions of dollars in lost revenue for the car industry.

With companies in almost every sector still recovering from the devastating effects of the pandemic, the timing couldn’t be worse. Toyota, the largest carmaker in Japan, is forced to slow down production due to a lack of computer chips. Nissan in the US is in the same boat as well.

The Continuing disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic and a worsening global semiconductor shortage hammered the automotive industry in the third quarter as the world’s largest car makers reported steep falls in earnings and production and dealers struggled to source models, The Western Journal reported. 

Excerpt from a Yahoo News report:

The shortage of parts caused by the coronavirus pandemic is further denting production at Toyota, Japan’s top automaker.

Production at 11 plants in Japan will be halted Friday, Saturday, and next Monday, Toyota Motor Corp. said.

That comes on top of reductions planned for February that were announced earlier. Those reductions will be on various days at eight of its 14 plants in Japan, including assembly lines making the Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models.

Supplies are running short because of a lack of computer chips, which are crucial in auto parts. Plants in and out of Japan have undergone lockdowns and stoppages related to COVID-19 measures. Toyota has not given details.

Production in January will be reduced by 47,000 vehicles, when accounting for the latest changes, according to Toyota. For the fiscal year through March, production will now fall short of the 9 million vehicles the automaker had targeted, despite healthy demand for Toyota offerings. All manufacturers are scrambling to secure the tight chip’s supply, worsening the crunch, Toyota said.

“We are doing our utmost to deliver our vehicles to our customers as soon as possible,” it said in a statement. “We deeply apologize.”

In August 2021 Nissan also reported the challenges they encountered with the chip’s supply:

Nissan says its huge factory in Smyrna, Tennessee, will close for two weeks starting Monday due to computer chip shortages brought on by a coronavirus outbreak in Malaysia.

The shutdown is among the longest at any U.S. auto plant of this size since the semiconductor shortage, which has hobbled auto production worldwide, started to hit late last year.

Nissan said Tuesday that it ran short of chips due to a COVID-19 outbreak at a chip factory in Malaysia. It expects production to resume Aug. 30.

The 6 million-square-foot Tennessee factory employs 6,700 people and makes six Nissan models, including the Rogue small SUV, the company’s top-selling U.S. vehicle.

Expert opinions vary on how long the crisis will continue to be a bottleneck in the supply chain. Some predict the worst of it will be over by the end of 2022, while others expect it to last well into 2023 and possibly beyond.

This is now another crisis that Biden has no idea how to address.

Sources:  TheGatewayPundit, Cars Direct, Yahoo News