Toyota has today (3 June) suspended production at its two domestic vehicle assembly lines, after they were affected by a parts shortage due to an explosion at supplier's plant, reports Reuters. The announcement of the halt came soon after the automaker announced yesterday that it has resumed production at all its production lines. The automaker has suspended the first shift on one line at the Kanto Higashi Fuji plant and one line at Daihatsu's Kyoto plant.
 

Significance: The explosion took place on 30 May at the Kariya plant of auto parts supplier Advics, a subsidiary of Aisin Seiki. Advics is one of the major suppliers to Toyota, making braking systems such as disc brakes, drum brakes, brake boosters, master cylinders, anti-lock braking systems (ABS), and electronic stability control (ESC) systems. Prior to this, Toyota's domestic production has also faced challenges on account of supply-chain disruptions caused by damage to a plant operated by an Aisin Seiki subsidiary following earthquakes in southern Japan, and a fire at a steel plant owned by Aichi Steel, another major supplier of the Japanese automaker. According to IHS Automotive forecasting analyst Satomi Hamada, the current production halt by Toyota is expected to affect an aggregate production volume by nearly 7,000 units, including the halts at the Kanto Higashi Fuji plant and the Kyoto plant today.