LONDON -- Honda will resume production at its Civic factory in Swindon, England, on Monday after output was halted because of parts delays.
Honda had halted production at the plant on Wednesday as congestion at ports trying to cope with Brexit and COVID19-related demand affected deliveries.
Britain's major container ports such as Felixstowe have been hit this year by the pandemic, which has disrupted global trade, leaving containers in the wrong place and goods stocked up in the ports.
In recent weeks that situation has been compounded by the arrival of Christmas stock and goods being stockpiled before Brexit, straining the normal free flowing movement, as Britain and the EU try to work out a trade deal before Dec. 31.
"Honda of the UK Manufacturing has confirmed to employees that full production operations will resume in all areas on Monday 14 December," the company said in a statement on Sunday.
Honda, like most automakers, operates a just-in-time system where parts from suppliers go straight into the factory and are installed in cars rolling down the assembly line. If just one component is missing, it can halt production.
UK importers have long warned of serious disruptions to supply chains across a host of industries due to Brexit.
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While other automakers in the UK have not so far followed Honda in halting output, a BMW spokesman said the automaker is planning for some parts supplies to take longer than usual.
Honda does not plan to recover lost production this month, due to supplier constraints, it said in a memo to vendors seen by Bloomberg News.
Honda built just under 110,000 Civic compact cars in Swindon last year. It is due to permanently close the plant in 2021 as part of a global production restructuring.
Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report
