Steel shortage forces production cuts at Nissan

A STEEL shortage is threatening production at the Nissan Motor Company in Japan. According to chief executive Carlos Ghosn, the company’s vehicle output in Japan could be reduced by 15 000 units in March. “Our projection is that January and February should be OK, but in March there is still a risk of further supply constraints,” he said, adding that this could result in lost production of 15 000 cars for Japan’s second-largest auto maker. An output loss of 10-15 000 units could dent profits by $58.46 million (R351m), he said. Nissan’s problem arose after the September roll-out of new models for which orders outpaced projections.