Japanese auto-plants in St. Petersburg not short of components yet - city
ST. PETERSBURG. March 29 (Interfax) - The warehouses of automotive plants in St. Petersburg that depend on the supply of Japanese components could run out in May or early June, in which case component deliveries from factories in Europe and Asia would become a possibility, according to city authorities.
"We [authorities] are confident that warehouse stocks, without connections with Japan, will suffice for automobile production at the same rate until May or the beginning of June," chairman of the St. Petersburg administration's committee for investment and strategic projects Alexei Chichkanov told the press on Tuesday.
The automakers themselves are not expressing any concerns associated with under-deliveries of automotive components from Japan, Chichkanov said. If deliveries cease, he said, producers will be able to alter their logistics and get the parts they need from other of their own plants in Europe and Asia.
Producers of Korean components located in Kamenka outside the city plan to increase output this year, having synchronized it with plans announced by Hyundai to increase automobile output to 200,000 vehicles per year by the start of 2012.
Canadian components-producer Magna plans to start expanding production capacity at its facilities in nearby Shushary.
Toyota and Nissan both have automotive plants in St. Petersburg.
As reported previously, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., whose companies in Japan had to halt operations in the wake of the massive earthquake earlier this month, have decided to wait on resuming auto production due to complications with the delivery of components. Suzuki is also experiencing production difficulties.
It has been reported that a shortage of automotive components caused by the earthquake could cause a nearly 30% drop in world auto-production.