Nissan North America Inc. will close its U.S. vehicle and engine plants for six days this month and its Mexican plants for five as it battles parts shortages stemming from the Japan earthquake.
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Nissan did not say how many vehicles it expects to lose from April production as a result of the shutdowns. But Nissan Americas Chairman Carlos Tavares said the company will offset the losses by running its plants later this year during what would have been regularly scheduled shutdowns.
“We are pulling forward those scheduled non-production days to use them now when we need them,” Tavares said in an interview at Nissan’s headquarters here. “Taking the down-time now will give our suppliers and our people some time to get fully back up and running.”
Tavares said he expects the disrupted Japanese supply chain to be operating normally by the end of April. But he said that Nissan teams are still assessing the condition of some Japanese suppliers.
Nissan obtains the bulk of its North American vehicles from plants on the continent rather than from Japan. But the March 11 earthquake tripped up automakers around the globe because so many vehicle components and materials are produced in Japan.
Honda Motor Co. said this week it would cut production shifts at most of its plants in the United States and Canada because of missing components. General Motors suspended production at its Shreveport, La., pickup factory the week of March 21.
Nissan’s closures will begin April 8 at all U.S. factories. Mexican shutdowns will begin on April 4 in Cuernavaca and April 11 in Aguascalientes.
