Japanese factories account for approximately one-third of Toyota’s annual production. Toyota plant in Japan.
photo:
Joe White / Reuters
TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp.
TM -1.31%
closed all 14 of its factories in Japan on Tuesday after a vendor suffered a computer virus attack, but the company said the factories would reopen on Wednesday.
The supplier Kojima Industries Corp. said he had problems with the server on Saturday night and found a virus and threatening message after restarting the server. After battling the problem over the weekend, Kojima said he came to the conclusion on Monday that he could not put his systems in place to work properly with customers on Tuesday.
Toyota TM -1.31%
said the problem at Kojima, a supplier of plastic parts for car interiors, has led to a one-day shutdown on Tuesday of all its factories in Japan. On Tuesday morning, he said production would resume on Wednesday morning.
“We deeply apologize for causing great concern to our customers,” Kojima said in a written statement.
Shutdown is the latest problem affecting Toyota’s production. The global shortage of semiconductors has forced factories to operate at full capacity for much of the past year.
The company said in February that it expects global production of Toyota and Lexus to total 8.5 million vehicles in the year ending March 2022, compared to a November forecast of nine million.
Japanese factories produce approximately one-third of Toyota’s annual production.
The Covid pandemic has strained global supply chains, causing backlogs, which have increased costs. Some companies are now looking for long-term solutions to prepare for future supply chain crises, even if these strategies cost a fortune. Photo illustration: Jacob Reynolds
-Peter Landers contributed to this article.
Write to Sean McLain at [email protected]
Copyright © 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Appears in the March 1, 2022 print edition as “Bad Supplier to Close Toyota Factories.”