Global chip shortage impacts Japan’s carmakers

Short supply: Toyota Motor Corp workers assemble a vehicle at the company’s Motomachi plant in Japan. The automaker will halt four production lines at three plants in the Aichi prefecture due to parts shortages. ─ Bloomberg

TOKYO: Japan’s major automakers have cut production at various factories due to the worsening global semiconductor shortage brought about as chipmakers struggle to meet soaring demand from consumer-electronics companies.

Lockdowns and travel restrictions are prompting housebound shoppers to snap up more phones, game consoles, smart TVs and laptops, which in turn has fueled demand for the chips used in those devices. That means carmakers from Toyota Motor Corp to Volkswagen AG are at risk of not getting enough parts to fuel a fledgling recovery in their own industry.