Japan 9.0 Earthquake Closes Many Manufacturers

After a 8.9 9.0 earthquake, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, hitting 230 miles East of Tokyo, Japan, in addition to causing a massive tsunami in northern Japan, manufacturers in Japan producing tech gadgets and hardware are closed for the time being. Manufacturers like Sony, Cannon, Panasonic, Honda, Toyota, and many more are included in the list of manufacturers that has closed their plants till further notice.

Sony currently halted and evacuated six of its factories northeast of Japan to asses the impact the damage of the power outage in the region. Panasonic has also closed its three of its facilities to also asses the damages of its facilities after sustaining minor damages. Though Cannon did not have any damages to its facilities, they decided to halt production for the time being.

Many more manufacturers have been closed to evacuate its employees, assess the damages, and/or to help the injured in the quake.  Here is a list of the companies and their status. (source: bloomberg.com)

Company                  Status

Sony Corp.               Production halted at six plants
Toyota Motor Corp.       Three group factories halted
Canon Inc.               No damage affecting production reported
Nippon Telegraph &       Restricted calls to some areas
Telephone Corp.          including Tokyo
Nissan Motor Co.         Halted production at four plants; two
                         injuries
Honda Motor Co.          Halted two plants; one employee killed;
                         about 30 injured
Toyota Boshoku Corp.     Damage at plant in Miyagi
Seiko Epson Corp.        Gathering information
Panasonic Corp.          Assessing damage, several workers with
                         minor injuries
Oriental Land Co.        Will close Tokyo Disney Resort tomorrow
                         for inspections
Denso Corp.              Damage to plant under construction in
                         Fukushima
Asahi Breweries Ltd.     Assessing damage
Kirin Holdings Co.       No major damage reported
Sapporo Holdings Ltd.    Damage at Sendai and Chiba plants
Sharp Corp.              Assessing damage
East Japan Railway Co.   Halted train services in Tokyo area
Tokyo Metro Co.          Halted train services
Tokyo Electron Ltd.      No immediate reports of damage
NTT DoCoMo Inc.          Mobile-phone service disruptions
Softbank Corp.           Mobile-phone service disruptions
Fuji Heavy Industries    Five plants halted
Ltd.

This will have some impact on the supply of tech products being produced in the world. Our thoughts at LogicLounge are with the folks in Japan and surrounding areas affected by the massive earthquake.