By Brenna Angel
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wuky/local-wuky-959287.mp3
GEORGETOWN, Ky. – Toyota Motor Corp says production may come to a halt at some North American plants due to supply disruptions in Japan. The auto maker has been keeping track of its parts suppliers following the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
"As that assessment continues, we realized that it's very possible that we're going to be facing some production interruptions in North America. That's very likely."
Spokesman Rick Hesterberg at Toyota's Georgetown plant says it's too early to say which locations will be affected and for how long. Overtime has been cut, but he says morale remains high.
"Even through production stoppages over the last few years, we've kept our team members working; our doors remained open. Even though we weren't building cars, we still had work available, we continued to focus on training our team members, improving processes."
Hesterberg says Japanese sources make up only a small percentage of their parts suppliers.
Toyota's Kentucky plant makes the Camry, Avalon, and Venza.