Though Japanese military helicopters have been dumping water on an overheating nuclear plant on Thursday, the United States has expressed growing alarm about leaking radiation and said it was sending aircraft to help Americans leave the country, and there are increasingly gloomy predictions of the longer-term effects of the ‘quake on Japanese automakers’ operations overseas, at least Mitsubishi plans to build cars in three plants on day shift Friday.
According to Reuters, engineers at the Daiichi plant in Fukushima tried to run power from the main grid to start water pumps needed to cool two reactors and spent fuel rods considered to pose the biggest risk of spewing radioactivity into the atmosphere as Tokyo faced possible widespread powercuts.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Toyota Electric Power Board officials this morning at a press conference explained the problems they were facing to restore electric power supply and get sufficient water into the plant.
“This is a very severe situation,” they said through an interpreter. Cooling the fuel and keeping containment vessels “sound” were the top priorities.
Reuters’ full report is here.
Also see: Yen’s rise threatens export profits
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataNissan chief sees “pretty minimal” impact overseas
Nissan Europe donating $1m; Europe output OK for now
FedEx chief expects only “pinch points” in global supply chain
Aftershocks spread in US auto sector
US shows growing alarm over Japan nuclear crisis
Toyota orders global overtime and weekend working ban
Mitsubishi plans three day shifts for Friday, EVS for quake zone
Renault and employees help Japanese earthquake victims
Automakers pour $18m into relief as confusion reigns
