More Japan Aftershocks - New Vehicle Sales Fall 51% In April - Biggest 1-Month Drop Ever

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Japan's biggest recorded quake and the tsunami it unleashed shattered supply chains and crippled electricity-generating facilities, including a nuclear power plant at the centre of an ongoing atomic emergency.

Many key component manufacturers are based in the worst-hit regions and suffered damage to their facilities from the 9.0 magnitude earthquake or were inundated by the giant wave that followed.

Sales of Toyota Motor vehicles dropped 68.7 percent to 35,557 vehicles in April. Nissan Motor vehicle sales tumbled 37.2 percent to 17,413 in the month, while Honda sales dived 48.5 percent to 18,923. Last week data showed a 15.3 percent dive in Japan's industrial production in March on-month, the sharpest since records began in 1953, due mostly to crippled vehicle production.

Consumer sentiment has also plunged. Japanese household spending plunged by 8.5 percent in March from a year earlier in the biggest drop since records began in 1964, separate data showed last week. Although sales of water and food surged as people stockpiled immediately after the quake and the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, consumers have held off spending on non-essential items.

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http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Japan_new_vehicle_sales_fall_by_record_51_percent_in_April_999.html