Buffalo plant sees no impact yet: If Calif. strike goes on, Toyota plant could be affected

DAILY MAIL BUSINESS EDITOR

The shutdown of the only major vehicle assembly line west of theMississippi hasn't had an impact on Toyota's Buffalo plant yet, butit could if a West Coast port strike drags on, a Toyota spokesmansaid.

New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. in Fremont, Calif., shut downWednesday night, said Dan Sieger, media relations manager forToyota's manufacturing headquarters in North America.

Toyota and General Motors jointly own the Fremont plant. Toyota'splant at Buffalo in Putnam County supplies the Fremont plant with 4-cylinder engines that are installed in Toyota Corollas and PontiacVibes, said David Copenhaver, general manager of administration atthe Buffalo plant.

Because of the West Coast port strike, the normally steady supplyof auto parts to the Fremont plant dried up and engines,transmissions and vehicle frames sat idle in cargo holds at the Portof Oakland, Calif., The Associated Press reported.

Dockworkers' union representatives and shipping lines were toresume federally mediated contract talks today.

Sieger said both the truck and car assembly lines at United MotorManufacturing shut down. "Obviously the shutdown of the truck linesdon't affect West Virginia because we don't supply those engines tothem," he said.

"The bottom line is, all of the other plants are running," Siegersaid. "We don't foresee any production stoppages at any of our plantsthis week. But if this drags on, it could be a problem.

"We are looking at alternate solutions to get the parts we need toNorth America," he said. "We're looking at airlifting stuff as well.We do import some parts to the West Virginia plant so we are lookingat all solutions to keep the system running."

The Fremont assembly plant employs about 5,500 workers and has anannual payroll of $300 million. There were no immediate plans forlayoffs, The Associated Press reported.

The engines built at Buffalo for Fremont are shipped by truck toChicago and by rail from Chicago to Fremont.

The Buffalo plant also builds V-6 engines and automatictransmissions and supplies Toyota plants in Georgetown, Ky., andOntario, Canada. The Buffalo plant employs about 950 people.

Writer George Hohmann can be reached at 348-4836 or by e-mail atbusiness@dailymail.com.