Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Russia's KamAZ Restarts Assembly Line After Fourth 10-Day Pause

Russia's KamAZ Restarts Assembly Line After Fourth 10-Day Pause
(NSI News Source Info) KAZAN - March 17, 2009: Russia's largest truck-maker KamAZ said on Monday it has restarted its main assembly line after a 10-day break due to weak demand for vehicles amid the financial crisis. KamAZ suspended production four times in the last five months, most recently putting workers on forced holidays on March 6-16. "All divisions are working at the moment, the plant is fulfilling several orders from Russian customers," the press service said. KamAZ, whose trucks have won the Dakar rally on eight occasions, including the 2009 event held for the first time in Argentina and Chile, earlier said that due to the crisis it was operating only when there is demand for vehicles, with employees receiving two-thirds of their salaries. In January, the plant manufactured about 1,100 vehicles, 1,800 in February, and its target for March is still being decided. Car factories in Russia have encountered difficulties over rising prices for auto parts and other supplies and declining sales. Russia's leading carmaker AvtoVAZ briefly shut down its assembly line twice in February, citing payment problems with suppliers. The country's second largest producer GAZ Group, which also suspended production for two weeks earlier this month, is facing tens of millions of dollars in debt claims from metal suppliers. A Ford factory near Russia's second city of St. Petersburg shut down its assembly lines for about a month earlier this year.

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