Toyota to suspend day shift in one Japanese factory due to water supply

TOKYO (Reuters) -Toyota Motor Corp will suspend vehicle production at one of its factories after a major industrial water leak in central Japan disrupted supply, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The automaker will suspend the daytime shift operation at two lines of Toyota Industries Corp’s Nagakusa plant on Thursday, which will cut by around 600 the number of vehicles produced, the spokesperson said. The factory produces models such as the RAV4 sports utility vehicle (SUV).

A decision about the night shift will be made Thursday, the spokesperson added.

The halt has been caused a water cutoff at a separate factory that produces auto parts, the spokesperson said.

The disruption affected more than 130 businesses, many of which are in the auto sector.

A Toyota spokesperson earlier said the company was using well water at its factories to cope with the shutdown. JERA, Japan’s biggest power generator, said water supply had been halted at two plants.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama, Editing by Louise Heavens)