Honda to close U.S. factories for a week over supply issues

Jammed American ports hinder parts from reaching car plants.

Honda said most of its five factories in the U.S. and Canada would shut for a week starting March 22.

Honda Motor Co. said it would halt production at most of its U.S. and Canadian car factories next week because of supply-chain issues including port backlogs that have delayed the delivery of parts.

The Japanese car maker said a combination of the port issues, a shortage of semiconductors, pandemic-related problems and fallout from severe winter weather across the central U.S. led to the decision.

The shutdown is set to start at most of Honda’s five auto plants in the U.S. and Canada on March 22 and last a week, the company said, without specifying which plants would halt production.

The decision highlights the stress on the car industry since the coronavirus pandemic upended the global supply chain. A sharp bounceback from the initial slowdown in the spring of 2020 has left companies scrambling to react. Jammed ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., are particularly a problem for Asian car makers that import parts used in their U.S. factories.

Honda said the duration of the shutdown could change depending on parts supply. Workers will continue to be paid to perform other tasks at the plants, it said.

Honda last suspended production this time last year when the U.S. started to implement lockdowns to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. In April, the company furloughed around 14,000 workers as the production shutdowns stretched on.

The Wall Street Journal