Honda scales back production

[rickaren]

Honda scales back production at 3 plants

Posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 1:39 PM EST.(Employee News)

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. will scale back production at three of its plants in January, including trimming output of Civic compacts at its plant in Alliston, Ont., as competitors take aim at the best-selling car in Canada, the Globe and Mail in Toronto reported.

Overtime at Alliston and factories in Ohio and Indiana has been cancelled for January, and the production cut may also involve reducing output on one or more Fridays next month, Honda Canada Inc. spokesman Richard Jacobs told the paper. The cutbacks largely affect Civic production in Alliston and the Indiana plant, and run counter to a move by Toyota Motor Corp., which announced last week that it will add a second shift in Woodstock, Ont., in March to double production of RAV4 crossover-utility vehicles, the Globe and Mail said.

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. have also announced plans to boost first-quarter production, while Chrysler Group LLC, like Honda, is trimming some production in January, the paper said. The different production strategies demonstrate how major auto makers in North America, caught off guard by the sudden collapse in the U.S. market last year, are adjusting more quickly than ever to reduce output when inventories rise above what the industry considers an optimum level—45 to 60 days worth of supply, the story said. (Globe and Mail)