Toyota extends halt to Tianjin operations on health concerns

[TOKYO] Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday its operations near the Chinese port of Tianjin will remain closed at least until Sunday, extending a suspension originally set through Wednesday, due to safety concerns after last week's deadly chemical explosion in the area.

Toyota also said the Changchun plant of Sichuan FAS Toyota Motor Co Ltd was affected by delays in parts shipments from Japan and would not be operational on Aug 20 and 21, although it would make up for lost production by scheduling two substitute production days.

Toyota, which operates two assembly lines near the Tianjin port and another line in a different part of the city, said it has not yet been able to confirm that the sites are safe. The Chinese government has said there were about 700 tonnes of the deadly chemical sodium cyanide in the warehouse that blew up.

"Since we have been unable to confirm the safety of the area in the vicinity of the blast, we have decided to keep production offline," the company said in an email.

REUTERS