The Quake in Japan Hits Hard on the Heavy Equipment Industry

On 11 March 2011 a massive earthquake of 9.1 magnitude, the fourth most powerful ever recorded, struck the northeast Japan, followed by tsunami, destroying vast pieces of land and being the cause of thousands of casualties. However, these were not the only adverse effects of that natural disaster.

What happened in Japan has also hit hard on the global market of the heavy equipment, hampering the regular supplies and evoking the unrest among the heavy equipment dealers. PT United Tractors has announced that the supplies of Komatsu heavy equipment will be delivered on time for the next 3 months, yet the supplies of heavy equipment manufactured in Japan are still limited because of the quake and tsunami. The management of the company strives to keep the deliveries unchanged and execute the plan according with the schedule for this year, however it seems that the quake is going to affect the deliveries of the Komatsu equipment from Japanese factories in Koriyawa, Ibaraki and Oyama. The factory in Koriyawa, specializing in manufacturing hydraulic cylinders and components is on the verge of being temporarily closed, suffering some damages resulting from the major natural disaster. Moreover, due to the shortages of gas supply the mobility of employees has been affected. It is estimated that the situation is likely to settle soon, however the future of the factory still remains uncertain. The factory in Oyama, located near the epicentre of the earthquake has suffered several damages and about 30 suppliers have experienced serious losses concerning their facilities. Currently, Komatsu is assessing the damage and supports the suppliers in their efforts to restore the deliveries of the spare parts and components. Finally, there are five factories in Ibaraki Prefecture, to the north of Tokyo, which has been hit the hard by the quake. The plants used to manufacture dump trucks and large-sized tires but now the production has been disrupted until they fully recover from the crisis.
Japan’s other main manufacturers have not reported any damage to their facilities which can be explained by the fact that they have been located quite far away from the area affected by the earthquake.