The three disasters — earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis — in the Tohoku (Northeast) region of Japan in March this year derailed the Japanese economy, having serious negative impacts on the Japanese manufacturing sector. Automobile production has been particularly affected. Japanese automobile assemblers like Toyota and Honda, whose production requires tens of thousands of parts and components, have achieved their competitiveness by setting up and managing efficient supply chains under which parts and components are delivered by specialist suppliers just in time for their use. This has enabled assemblers to cut production costs and maintain high quality.
The three disasters — earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis — in the Tohoku (Northeast) region of Japan in March this year derailed the Japanese economy, having serious negative impacts on the Japanese manufacturing sector. Automobile production has been particularly affected. Japanese automobile assemblers like Toyota and Honda, whose production requires tens of thousands of parts and components, have achieved their competitiveness by setting up and managing efficient supply chains under which parts and components are delivered by specialist suppliers just in time for their use. This has enabled assemblers to cut production costs and maintain high quality.