Japanese Buy Record Number of U.S.-Made Auto Parts

12/30/96

Kyodo reports that Japanese purchases of U.S.-made auto parts by 11 Japanese automakers rose 5.5% year-on-year between April and September. The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) reported on Thursday that Japanese auto parts purchases for the six month period amounted to a record 10,891.88 million dollars. Of that total the carmakers bought 9,201.15 million dollars worth of parts from local plants (up 6.0%), and 1,690.72 million dollars worth of imported parts (up 2.5%).

Japanese purchases of European Union (EU)-made auto parts for the first half of fiscal 1996 amounted to 2,763.87 million dollars. Of those purchases, 2,403.28 million dollars worth of parts were bought locally, and 360.58 million dollars worth of parts were bought as imports. JAMA said that no yearly comparisons were available for statistics on EU purchases, as this year represented the first time JAMA compiled half-year EU parts purchases.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel