2011 Asia Business SA

The Japanese and the countries supported by them knew this was coming. From the Japanese earthquake they have had to shut down lots of automakers, including General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Honda. About 13 percent of worldwide auto output has been lost due to parts shortages and IHS Automotive estimated it might cut back 30 percent within six weeks. “In about two weeks, we'll start seeing empty ships or no ships arriving in a number of ports,” he said. Sean McAlinden “Remember, there are 30 000 components in a car. We could see the effect on practically every production line in North America and most of Europe because of this supply interruption, this black swan for the global auto industry in Japan.”