Tuesday Ticker: Toyota halts production at two plants following explosion; while U.S. President Donald Trump announces vehicles traded under CUSMA exempt from tariffs

Toronto, Ontario – In this weekly Tuesday Ticker, Toyota has announced that-- following an explosion at its manufacturing facility last Thursday,--the automaker has halted production at two more facilities. Meanwhile, United States President Donald Trump has announced that vehicles traded under the CUSMA agreement will be exempt from tariffs.

Holding halts

Following a recent explosion that occurred last Thursday due to a faulty dust collector at its manufacturing facility in Toyota, Japan, Toyota has announced that it has further suspended operations on three production lines at two vehicle assembly plants.

According to local news sources, the most recent suspensions are centred at the company’s facilities in the Aichi Prefecture.

Furthermore, recent updates indicate that the plant where the explosion occurred belongs to Chuo Spring Company Ltd., an affiliated supplier of suspension parts.

The vehicle assembly plants currently affected by the stoppages include the Takaoka plant in Toyota City—which produces the RAV4 and Harriet SUVs–-and Toyota Industries’ Nagakusa plant in Obu—which produces the RAV4 SUV.

Currently, the automaker has yet to reveal how long production will remain suspended.

As of 11:07 a.m. ET on Monday, Toyota stock traded at JPY2,829, up 0.93 percent. 

Coming under CUSMA

Last Wednesday, United States President Donald Trump announced that vehicles traded under the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will be exempt from tariff threats.

However, according to online sources, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the reciprocal tariffs set to take place on April 2nd will still go into effect, and tariffs on steel and aluminum have also been set.

“There was deep concern that there would be production stoppages, job losses, price increases in the automotive sector and the fact that there has been a reprieve and a recognition that vehicles are built to CUSMA standards I think is an encouraging sign,” concluded Brian Kingston, president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association in an official statement to Global News.