SENDAI, Japan (April 18, 2011) — Output at Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd.'s car tire plant in Sendai is up to 70 percent of capacity and should reach 100 percent in May, the company said.
Output stopped after the earthquake March 11 and has been recovering slowly. Initial production re-started on April 8. As of April 10, output was 40 percent, but that rose to 70 percent on April 12.
“The plan for the future is to step up the rate of operations in stages while responding flexibly to supply and logistical issues, so that by May, operations may resume at full capacity,” Toyo said.