The South Korean unit of French automaker Renault said Wednesday it would cut output by about 20 percent next month due to a shortage of parts from quake-hit Japan.

Renault Samsung Motors had earlier suspended overtime after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami halted operations of its Japanese suppliers.

"Following the temporary halt of extra work from March 18, the company plans to reduce its vehicle output by about 20 percent for one month from the start of April," Renault Samsung said in a statement.

"The output will be re-adjusted depending on the resumption of deliveries of parts."

The company has a strategic alliance with Japan's Nissan Motor.

Renault Samsung did not give a figure for lost production. Last year it produced 275,267 vehicles at its Busan plant, which has an annual capacity of 300,000.

Other South Korean manufacturers have not so far reported major problems with disrupted Japanese supply lines.

An official from the Knowledge Economy Ministry overseeing the situation said Tuesday there was no major impact so far on local industry.

"Smaller-sized companies have had some difficulties but they are trying to secure supply lines in other ways," the official told AFP.

"There have been cases where Japanese trading partners have called to delay contracts and export schedules, but that is limited only to some companies."

earlier related report
Japan industrial production up before quake
Osaka (AFP) March 30, 2011 - Japan's industrial production rose for a fourth straight month in February, data showed Wednesday, in another sign the economy was picking up before a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Factory output increased a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent in February from the previous month as production of machinery increased, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

The result beat the median forecast for a 0.2 percent drop in a poll of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei and marked the fourth straight month of gains following a 1.3 percent rise in January.

Recent data has bolstered the view that before the March 11 quake, Japan's economy was staging a rebound after contracting in the October-December quarter. Unemployment fell to its lowest level in two years in February.

However, the earthquake and ensuing tsunami that hit northeastern and eastern regions is expected to severely impact production in the next few months, amid power outages and supply chain disruption.

Around 28,000 people are confirmed dead or listed as missing in Japan following the disaster.

Infrastructure along the northeast coast has been shattered, while rolling power outages have hit production with companies closing plants temporarily.

Exports of key components and equipment used in the assembly of goods abroad have also been hit, sending shockwaves across global markets.

Factory damage and continuing power outages mean industrial output will likely fall 3-4 percent on-month in March, and 1-2 percent in April, smothering economic growth ahead, said Takuji Aida, senior economist at UBS Securities Japan.

"The auto sector is the biggest concern, given its centrality to manufacturing and exports, and the severity of some of the production cuts there," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

Japan last week said the cost of rebuilding after the twin disaster could hit 25 trillion yen ($309 billion), more than double the 1995 Kobe earthquake and nearly four times more than Hurricane Katrina in the United States.

The estimate does not account for wider issues such as how radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was crippled by the quake, will affect food and water supply, amid a deepening contamination scare.