HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

April 28, 2011. Japanese factory output falls by record level in earthquake's aftermath

SOURCE: Altegrity Risk International

Japan's factory output fell by 15.3% in March 2011 - beating the previous record of 8.6% in February 2009 during the global financial crisis - after a powerful earthquake and tsunami disrupted the country's' supply chain, reports indicated on April 28th. Following the figures, the Bank of Japan left its interest rates unchanged - a history low of between zero and 0.1%. Damages to Japan's infrastructure, supply chain, and electricity generation and distribution after the country's economy and many of its leading firms. The automobile manufacturing sector was particularly affected by the natural disaster as these firms do not keep large inventory of parts and rely on a well-oiled supply chain.