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Toyota Halts Japanese Car Production Due to Steel Crisis

Toyota will shut down its assembly lines in Japan for six days because of an odd supply crisis.
Yaris Fleet at Toyota's Burnaston factory 1 photo
Photo: Toyota
The situation was caused by an explosion at a steel factory that acted as a supplier for the Japanese carmaker. Because of the blast, the steel plant needs some repairs, so the carmaker will have to stop its production for a few days to adjust itself to the situation.

Last month, Toyota made 13,630 units a day in the Land of the Rising Sun, so production will be down by around 82,000 units because of the current state of affairs.

However, the bigger problem for Toyota given the circumstances will be the delay in deliveries for the new generation Prius. Some Lexus models, like the NX crossover, will also suffer from the production halt.

This is not the first time Toyota’s production is affected by external events that aren’t directly linked to its factories. An earthquake and a tsunami that struck Japan disrupted production of all Japanese carmakers, and this new steel crisis could affect other brands based in the country.

Toyota’s shutdown will take place between February 8 and 13, but its cause goes back to January 8. That’s when the explosion at the Aichi Steel Corporation’s Chita plant that led to this situation happened.

As Bloomberg notes, the new event highlights the fragility of Toyota’s supply chain in the case of unforeseen events. The situation is surprising when it happens to the world’s leading carmaker, and not to some exotic car builder or a small manufacturer.

However, this event goes to show that the Japanese company had an adequate steel supply and could still operate for a while after one of its key suppliers encountered an issue in production.

Toyota is known for inventing specific manufacturing strategies such as Poka-Yoke and their Just-in-Time philosophy, and these systems originate from Jidoka (automation with a human touch), a term whose roots are traced back to the invention of the first automatic loom by Sakichi Toyoda, Founder of Toyota Group.

These strategies that became a code of conduct are called the “kanban system” and involve designing parts that only fit one way (Poka-Yoke) and are delivered to the workbench or production line in just the right sequence and at the right time to be assembled.

These ideas were eventually adopted by other carmakers and streamlined automotive production by eliminating delays and oversupply. However, when disaster strikes, production is quickly halted and workers are on paid leave.

In the long run, Toyota’s philosophy proved to be successful, as it made the company the leader in its field concerning sales.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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