The earthquake-affected north of Japan is home is home to factories belonging to several carmakers, including Toyota. Damage to the area makes supply shortages a possibility. In all, the company produces about two-fifths of its vehicles in Japan and exports more than half of them. Predictably, the price of its shares, and rival Honda’s, have fallen 16 per cent and 13 per cent respectively since the quake struck. Across Japan, many supply chains are in shock. About one-fifth of Japanese steel production capacity has been affected, and disruption to the production of component parts (including computer chips, touch screens, and semiconductor equipment) is certain.
As long as power remains inconsistent and transport links are broken, supply chain disruptions will hurt Japanese companies. But their customers around the globe should not panic just yet. Even if some dealerships, for example, experience shortages, in most cases plenty of other underutilised manufacturers are keen to fill the gap.
For corporate purchasers of Japanese stuff, the timing of the earthquake could have been worse. Inventory levels, which provide a buffer against stock shortages, have now normalised after the crisis-inspired inventory-burn, so gaps of a few weeks are mostly tolerable. TSMC of Taiwan, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors, relies on Japanese parts but holds a 30-day stockpile of key materials. If the tragedy had struck last year when inventory was being rebuilt, a supply shock would have been more disruptive.