Sony Suspends Production At More Japan Plants

Sony Corp. has suspended production at more Japanese plants after a massive earthquake on March 11 has made it difficult for the plants to get raw materials and components.

The Japanese consumer electronics giant said it is temporarily suspending certain parts of manufacturing operations at Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Oita sites on and after March 22 through March 31, 2011.

The company intends to resume manufacturing operations at each of those sites as it secures raw materials and components.

Sony's Shizuoka plant makes broadcast and professional equipment, while Aichi plant manufactures camcorders, digital still cameras and LCD TVs.

Meanwhile, the Gifu plant produces lens for digital single-lens reflex cameras, cell phones and the Oita plant is responsible for manufacturing microphones, headphones, etc.

At this time, Sony will endeavor to maintain supplies of the listed products in the market through reliance on existing inventory, to the extent available. While Sony is making every effort to resume normal operations at these sites, in the event shortages of necessary raw materials and components at these sites will continue, the Company is considering alternatives, including possibly temporarily shifting certain manufacturing operations overseas, Sony said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the plants at Miyagi, Fukushima and Ibaraki remain suspended. Miyagi plant makes Magnetic tapes, Blu-ray discs, optical devices, IC cards and semiconductor lasers. On the other hand, plants at Fukushima and Ibaraki produce lithium ion secondary batteries and DVDs, respectively.

Sony, which makes the popular Playstation gaming console and Vaio personal computer, is intermittently resuming manufacturing operations at Chiba plant on March 22, 2011.

The Chiba plant, which manufactures blu-ray disc recorder and home audio, had no damage from the earthquake and tsunami, but had to be suspended due to power outages. The company, however, warned it may have to suspend production temporarily again, depending on the planned power outage situation.

On March 15, Sony has resumed production at its Saitama plant that makes surface mounting equipments. The company also partially resumed production at Tochigi plant, which produces bonding and optics materials and lithium ion secondary batteries.

All other facilities in Japan are operating normally, the company said.

Tokyo-based Sony is evaluating the full impact of the earthquake, tsunami and related power outages on its businesses and financial results.

On March 11, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and a resultant tsunami have wrecked Japan's northeast region. According to media reports, at least 16,000 people died from the earthquake and tsunami. Out of that, Miyagi accounted for a major portion of deaths as it took the full blow of the tsunami.

Shares of Sony closed Tuesday's regular trading session at 2,600 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The ADRs of Sony ended Monday's trading session at $32.42 on the NYSE.