Deere & Co. said Friday it expects delivery delays for some construction excavators built under a joint venture with Japanese equipment manufacturer Hitachi.
Deere, which also is the world’s largest manufacturer of farm machinery, said it’s still assessing the effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami on the Japanese suppliers that provide components for Deere and Hitachi-branded excavators and Hitachi mining equipment.
“Because of the uncertain situation in Japan, it is to early to estimate the impact on Deere’s overall business,” the company said in written statement. “Present conditions in Japan make it difficult to estimate the full effects on the supply chain.”
The Moline, Ill., company said some of its Japanese suppliers are recovering from disruptions caused by the disaster, which leveled coast towns, killed thousands of people and triggered a crisis at a nuclear power plant that has yet to be resolved.
Under Deere and Hitachi’s manufacturing and marketing agreement, Deere is responsible for marketing and selling excavators, mining equipment and compact construction equipment for both brands in North and South Americas. The joint venture, Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corp., operates an excavator assembly plant in Kernersville, N.C.
Rival construction-equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. warned earlier Friday that disruptions in its supply chain in Japan could sporadically affect the company’s assembly plants elsewhere in the world.
The company said it is trying to secure alternative sources for components produced by Japanese-based suppliers in case they aren’t able to provide sufficient volumes of components.
Deere’s stock closed Friday’s regular trading session up 0.81 percent at $90.13 a share. The stock was flat in after hours trading.
Seems to me if they were using American parts there would not be a problem!!