Tianjin Explosion Update – Toyota Halts Operations of 3 Lines and 50 Workers Injured

As of Monday (today), Toyota said more than 50 of their workers were injured in the explosion that rocked the port in Tianjin.

Also, three of Toyota’s production lines are down, or stopped, until at least Wednesday, due to the area being evacuated. The company doesn’t know yet if it will be able to restart production once contamination advisories are lifted and is still confirming the extent of damage to facilities with blown-out windows, spokesman Nicholas Maxfield said in an e-mail.

While other automakers, such as Mazda, feel they have enough inventory, they are also worried about the possible toll this blast may have on components flow.

Toyota’s three production lines are down because they were either directly affected by the blast, or rely on parts from production facilities directly affected.

Hyundai is still unsure how many of their vehicles have been damaged, as they cannot get in to the blast area due to contamination advisories. Volkswagen AG has said they’ve lost 2,700 vehicles due to damage. Also, 114 lives have been claimed and 70 people are still missing, as of 7:13 this morning.

Japanese automakers said they avoided some lost production due to a holiday last week and production plants were closed.

Premier Li Keqiang has promised to find the reason for the explosion.

I expect to have more news in the coming days, and I’ll keep you updated when I’ve got more. In the meantime, I’ll find whatever photos of the aftermath I can and post them.