As car makers continue assessing damage following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated certain coastal regions of Japan, it is becoming clear that disruption of the Japanese auto industry will be deeper and longer-lasting than initially thought.

Several car makers including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. shut down production and don' t plan to restart until the coming week. But while damage reported at many major auto-company factories was minimal, it was worse for some suppliers. Transportation networks needed to move parts and vehicles also took a hit from which recovery may be difficult.

Car makers are likely to keep assembly plants closed until they are certain the supply chain has recovered enough to meet the demands of regular production, and that could take awhile.

The quake and tsunami disrupted many elements critical to the production and distribution of automobiles from labor to electrical power, fuel supplies, rail and highway transportation, and shipping ports where cars are marshaled for export.

Japanese car makers in general and Toyota in particular have long been known for running tight operations based on just-in-time inventory systems under which components and sub-assemblies arrive at the main factory shortly before they are assembles into vehicles.

A Toyota spokesman says this system has compelled many suppliers to set up shop near the big plants, especially larger so-called tier1 suppliers. However, suppliers come in many sizes and lower-tier companies located in more heavily damaged areas may take many days or weeks to regain their full capacity.

The affect for consumers in the U.S. and other markets export markets could range from a ripple to a shock in the supply of certain Japanese vehicles. Many Japanese cars that are popular in the U.S. are built here, including the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. But others like the Toyota Yaris, Toyota's Scion lineup, and the Honda Fit subcompact and Insight hybrid are made in Japan and could be in short supply this spring and summer.

If a severe shortage of such cars with high fuel economy occurs as fuel prices soar beyond $4 a gallon, as many analysts expect, Japanese carmakers could miss out on a significant opportunity to grab sales and market share. Meanwhile the disaster in Japan could be a boon for U.S. rivals like Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Co., which have been rolling out new fuel efficient models.

Then again, given the auto industry's global nature, even U.S. car makers are likely to feel pain, depending on the degree to which they depend on Japanese suppliers.

日本汽车制造商还在继续评估地震和海啸带来的损失，现在日益明确的一点是，日本汽车制造业停产的范围要比最初认为的大，停产时间也会比最初预想的长。地震和海啸摧毁了日本某些沿海地区。

相关报导美国和其它海外市场的消费者受日本某些汽车供应情况的影响可大可小。本田雅阁(Honda Accord)和丰田凯美瑞(Toyota Camry)等很多在美国大受欢迎的日本汽车是在美国当地生产的。不过丰田雅力士(Yaris)、丰田Scion以及本田飞度(Fit)微型汽车和Insight混合动力车等其它汽车均在日本制造，今年春天和夏天这些车型可能会出现供应短缺现象。

如果这些很省油的汽车在油价飙升至每加仑4美元以上(一如很多分析人士所预期的那样)时出现严重的供应短缺，那么日本制造商可能会错失汽车大卖和抢占市场份额的先机。此外，日本的这场灾难可能对福特汽车公司(Ford Motor Co.)和通用汽车公司(General Motors Co.)等不断推出节能省油新车型的美国竞争对手来说是件好事。

不过话又说回来，鉴于汽车业全球化这一特点，就连美国汽车制造商可能也会觉得头痛，而头痛程度取决于它们对日本供应商的依赖程度。