Production of Honda, Nissan, Subaru and Nissan cars in North America has been hit by a labour dispute at ports on the US west coast.
A Reuters report said some Asian suppliers had resorted to costly air freight.
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With ports near gridlock and cargo delays being felt throughout the US economy, president Barack Obama had dispatched US labour secretary Tom Perez to California to try to get agreement on a new contract between dockworkers and the group representing shippers and terminal operators, the report added.
The ports between them handle nearly half of all US maritime trade and over 70% of imports from Asia and have been experiencing severe delays since October.
Honda Motor told Reuters it would slow production for a week at plants in Ohio, Indiana and Ontario, Canada, as parts have been held up by the dispute, affecting models including the Civic, CR-V and Accord.
“We do not have a sufficient supply of several critical parts to keep the production lines running smoothly and efficiently,” spokesman Mark Morrison said.
Honda and other carmakers have already started airfreighting some crucial parts from Asia to US factories.
Subaru maker Fuji Heavy Industries said it would continue flying parts to its US factory in Indiana beyond an initial arrangement until the end of February, which it said previously would cost an extra JPY7bn (US$59m) a month.
Toyota told Reuters it had reduced overtime at some factories while Nissan Motor said it had been slightly affected.
“Trust in west coast ports is at an all time low and the perception of supply chain risk is at an all-time high,” Peter Tirschwell, chief maritime analyst at the JOC Group, a supplier of USseaborne trade data, told the news agency. “We are entering another period of fundamental supply chain re-evaluation that is already leading some shippers to permanently abandon the west coast.”
