Honda has experienced a very challenging 2011. The devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the flooding in Thailand have conspired to badly damage Honda’s ability to build vehicles here in North America. That should change soon, though, as Automotive News reports that North American Honda plants will be running at full steam by the beginning of December.
Honda’s challenges during the Japan earthquake included a badly damaged development center and several plants that were unable to produce the parts needed to build vehicles here in the States. Just as production began to normalize, the Thailand floods caused a shutdown of the automaker’s Ayutthaya plant, which reportedly led to a 4.7-percent reduction in output.
With Honda’s plants running at full steam, the automaker should be able to satiate demand for new models like the Civic and the 2012 CR-V.
News Source: Automotive News – sub. req.
