Local firms fear Japan shipment shortage

Some local car dealers are worried about shortages of popular models assembled in Japan, while some Long Island companies that export and import products and raw materials are worried about whether shipments from Japan will arrive and those to Japan will reach their destinations.

And anyone with stock investments was affected by the worsening crisis in Japan Tuesday as nervous investors dumped shares around the world.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down about 138 points, and other indexes around the world lost ground. Oil prices also fell as traders bet that Japan's battered economy would need less energy for a time.

Toyota, Honda and other Japanese automakers have closed plants in Japan in the wake of Friday's earthquake and tsunami -- in some cases with tentative plans to reopen Wednesday -- because of damage, power outages or concern about parts supplies.

Among these is the plant that produces the Prius, whose popularity has been increasing as gas prices have risen, said general manager Denis Dagger of Smithtown Toyota. "The Prius is now considered a core product, right up there with the Camry and Corolla," he said.

He estimated that there is only a 30- to 45-day supply in local dealer lots and at ports. "The big problem is, how are they going to back it up after that?" he said. "It sounds to me like there is going to have to be a window with not only a shortage but a complete wipeout."

Other Toyotas imported from Japan include the 4 Runner, FJ Cruiser and Yaris.

Other local companies are worried about shipments from Japan of appliances, TVs and electronic parts, said Patti Stoff, managing director of the Long Island Import Export Association. Its 300 members include airlines, ocean carriers and local companies -- like Audiovox, Estée Lauder, Henry Schein and Pall Corp. -- that sell goods to, or import them from, Japan.

"A manufacturer here has to make sure that any cargo going to Japan can get to its final destination," Stoff said. "And the manufacturer has to make sure the buyer in Japan can take possession of those goods."

For products from Japan, she said, short supplies create uncertainty. "If production is limited, will the production make it here, and who is going to get it?"

Melville-based Park Electrochemical Corp., which makes a variety of electronic parts, said it sources a "significant amount" of raw materials from Japan. "The company continues to investigate and evaluate the status and condition of its suppliers in Japan, " it said Tuesday.

Like Toyota, Honda and Nissan also produce in North America most of the vehicles they sell stateside, but many models assembled here have some parts sourced from Japan.

Subaru and Toyota said Tuesday they had slowed production by suspending overtime and Saturday work -- as a precaution in case parts were delayed for their respective U.S. assembly plants. Honda said it is assessing the impact but an "adequate inventory" of Japanese-made parts is at the plants or in transit.

This story was supplemented with reports from Newsday staff writer Joseph Mallia and The Associated Press.