Ford Motor will idle plants in Taiwan, China and South Africa beginning this week due to the shortage of parts from Japan after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the company said on Monday.
All three plants, one each in Taiwan, China and South Africa, were scheduled to be shut later, and Ford moved up those dates, a Ford spokesperson said.
Ford in a filing with United States securities regulators earlier this month, signalled the slowed production in Asia. Ford said at the time that the company expected no material impact on company earnings from the slowdowns.
Ford reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday morning.
Ford officials on Monday declined to say whether production at the plants to be idled this week will be made up with increased production later.
Ford beginning this week will idle for two weeks the Ford Lio Ho plant in Taiwan “as a precautionary move to ensure we have parts availability going forward and as a result of a shortage of vehicle kits”, the company said.
Also idled for a single week are Ford’s Changan Ford Mazda Automobile plant in Nanjing in China and an assembly plant in South Africa. — Reuters