A global rating agency says Thailand's severe floods are disrupting manufacturing in that nation, and hurting production of parts used by factories in other countries.
Thailand is a major production site for Japanese electronic and auto companies, turning out both finished products and parts needed for assembly elsewhere.
Two reports from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Wednesday say their experts think the disruption will not last long enough to hurt the creditworthiness of major Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Sony.
A Reuters news report said the Thai floods have closed Toyota, Nissan, and Honda factories for weeks. The story said a lack of parts is prompting Toyota to reduce some production in Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Another report by French news agency AFP said a lack of parts forced Honda to close a plant in Malaysia.
Flooding disruptions are also prompting Sony to delay introduction of a key new product.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
