Toyota Goes To Washington For Suppliers, Fearful Of Crippling Supply Interruptions

Toyota Motor Corp.'s top U.S. executive will raise the automaker's concerns about the precarious state of the U.S. auto parts sector this week when he meets with the White House auto task force, company sources said.

Jim Lentz, president of Toyota's U.S. sales subsidiary Toyota Motor Sales, will speak with task force members on Wednesday morning in Washington.

Toyota has not been hit as hard by the auto sales downturn as Detroit's automakers, but the Japanese manufacturer relies on many of the same components makers for its U.S. assembly plants.

Close to half of Toyota's U.S. parts supplies, in revenue terms, are produced by component manufacturers that also supply Detroit's automakers, according to Birmingham consulting firm Planning Perspectives Inc.

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theoptimisticpessimist - 3/10/2009 4:25:29 PM

-1 Boost

"Toyota should just buy out all the suppliers" The should just ask the Japanese government for it, again.

XYZZ - 3/11/2009 1:41:51 AM

+5 Boost

not a bad idea.

but inevitably, the simple-minded xenophobes will then complain again that toyota only buys parts from their own toyota-related supplier companies, ignoring American supplier firms.

topneuro - 3/10/2009 3:52:51 PM

-1 Boost

Sound like a plan, Dr. Strangelove.