TOKYO -

As the flooding in Thailand continues to cause production troubles for its suppliers, Toyota announced late last week that it has been forced to extend the time frame for adjusted production hours at its plants in Japan, while also slowing production rates in North America, South Africa and multiple Asian markets. 

The automaker previously announced that the adjusted hours at its Japanese plants would go through Nov 5. Now, the company has prolonged the extension another week, set to go through Nov. 12.

Company officials noted that production for this week will be adjusted “based on an ongoing assessment of the parts supply situation at each individual production line.”

As for production outside Japan, the automaker’s sales and production company in Thailand — Toyota Motor Thailand Co. —  will also prolong its production halt at its Samrong, Gateway and Ban Pho plants through Nov. 12.  The production halt has been in place since Oct. 10.

That said, the automaker assured the public that the floods still have had no direct physical impact on the plants.
 
And as for North American production for Toyota, the outlook has not changed. Early last week, the OEM  announced that North American vehicle assembly plants would suspend overtime and Saturday production through the end of this week  — Nov 12.

Though the production adjustments most likely have dealers on edge due to inventory concerns, the company contends that U.S. dealers continue to have a good supply of cars and trucks as inventories have improved in recent months.

Also reported by Auto Remarketing early last week, vehicle production plants in South Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan and Malaysia will adjust production for this week, as well.

Lastly, Toyota noted that a decision on production from Nov. 14 onward will be made based on an assessment of the situation as it develops.
 
As for fellow automakers, such as Honda and Nissan, those with plants in the areas affected by the flood, as well as suppliers, are being forced to reevaluate their production schedules, and in some cases, suspend it entirely.

For more updates, see the Auto Remarketing story here.