Japanese automakers shut down plants, lines after Monday's quake

The earthquake that struck Japan on Monday is affecting several automakers, most notably Toyota, as damage to a key supplier's manufacturing facility has interrupted the flow of parts required to build cars. Riken Corp's plant at Kashiwazaki is the one that got hit by the 6.8 magnitude quake, and the facility is offline while the company works feverishly to complete the necessary repairs.

Until it does, however, the impact is being felt across the Japanese auto industry. Toyota announced that it's halted production at 12 plants as a result. In addition, Mitsubishi is shutting down three factories, Nissan has stopped a pair of lines, and Fuji Heavy has stopped production of five minicar models as it waits for Riken to become operational again. Honda could also join the list very soon..

[Source: AP via Yahoo! News]