3:34 pm, January 5, 2021
Honda is pausing production at its Swindon factory because of ‘global supply issues’.
The Japanese car maker’s UK production line opened Monday after a Christmas break, but has been forced to close today (Tuesday) and will also be shut tomorrow.
In a statement, Honda UK said it ‘has confirmed to employees that some production activities will not run Tuesday and Wednesday due to global supply issues’.
Honda added: ‘The situation is currently being monitored with a view to restart production on Thursday, January 7.’
This is the second time Honda has been forced to pause production recently.
In early December, it faced supply issues after a combination of Brexit stockpiling, Covid-19 and the Christmas rush was blamed for causing congestion at British ports.
The Honda plant in Swindon will close this year
Minor delays can have a major impact on car production, as factories run on the ‘just-in-time’ manufacturing principle, which can see parts show up moments before they are fitted to a car.
More: Road Test of the Year 2020: Honda e
However, many in the industry have raised concerns that this could be in jeopardy if trucks are slowed passing borders in the post-Brexit world, driving up costs as companies have to stock extra parts.
In 2019, Honda’s Swindon factory made nearly 110,000 Civics. However, it is scheduled to close later this year.
At the time of the closure announcement, the factory was said to employee 3,500 people.
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