The impact of Middle East conflicts on Japan's automotive industry continues to grow

People’s Finance News, April 7—Since fighting in the Middle East broke out more than a month ago, its impact on Japan’s auto industry has continued to expand. Not only have imports of raw materials such as naphtha been obstructed, putting pressure on automotive component production and driving up prices, but vehicle production has also been forced to cut output or shut down. According to statistics from market services firm Kpler, in March, Japan’s imports of petroleum products such as naphtha fell by about 30% compared with the previous month. As an important chemical raw material, tight supplies of naphtha have directly led to tight supplies of manufacturing inputs for plastic components such as ethylene, while the key base raw material required for tire production, butadiene, and synthetic rubber have also surged in price. According to Japanese media reports, Toyota Motor Corporation plans to cut the output of vehicles exported to the Middle East by 24k units in April. Nissan Motor Co. will continue in April the production-cut measures it began taking in March. Mazda Motor Corp. has recently confirmed that it will stop producing vehicles for export to the Middle East before the end of May. Subaru Corporation has recently confirmed that, due to disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, its exports to the Middle East have already been halted. (Xinhua News Agency)