Japanese Automakers Facing New Challenges in Decade Since Earthquake The biggest lesson learned by OEMs was to get a better handle on their respective supply bases. At the time of the earthquake, for instance, Toyota and Honda did not know the names of many of their Tier 4 and Tier 5 suppliers of chemicals and resins.
Second of two parts
Ten years after a massive earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Japan, triggering a tsunami which brought auto and other manufacturing to a virtual standstill for weeks in some cases, the Japanese auto industry is running like clockwork.
Recent shortages of semiconductors notwithstanding, the industry fixed what could be fixed and decided planning for another once-in-a-century, even a once-in-a-generation event is not a priority.