Recent Tsunami in Japan to Slow Q2 Vehicle Sales in M'sia

PETALING JAYA: Vehicle sales in the second quarter could slow down due to supply constraints following the earthquake in Japan.

“In the second quarter (Q2), the economic sentiment in Malaysia is likely to remain positive. However, we expect supply side constraints due to the unfortunate situation in Japan,” said Frost & Sullivan partner and automotive and transportation practice head for Asia-Pacific, Kavan Mukhtyar.

“ Japanese-linked companies are expected to slow down production and companies that have lower dependence on Japanese supplies could benefit from this situation. “Some key models that are supposed to be launched in Q2 will be delayed,” he said. This could result in customers postponing their purchase decisions. These factors could slow down new vehicle registration in Q2, 2011. Total vehicle sales surged by 12.7% to 63,265 units in March 2011 from 56,139 units a year earlier due to a rush for deliveries and invoicing by companies that have their financial year ending in March, the Malaysian Automotive Association said last month.

Year-to-date (YTD) March 2011 sales volume increased by 7.5% over the same period last year, up from 4.3% as at YTD February 2011. The MAA said sales volume for April would moderate and was expected to be lower than March. OSK Research auto analyst Ahmad Maghfur Usman in his recent report concurred, saying that the earthquake would create a shortage of vehicles in Malaysia despite the buoyant demand over the first quarter (Q1).

“Auto companies' earnings are likely to be hit in Q2 and the third quarter (Q3) as poor economic efficiency and spiralling raw material prices pinch margins.” Kavan said while Q1 showed strong positive growth, Q2 is expected to see a marginal decline. “From a demand stand point the driving factors will remain positive. Economy (gross domestic product) is expected to grow at a healthy pace in upwards of 5%. There could be some inflationary pressures due to oil price increase.
“However interest rate may only increase marginally. By and large the demand side factors are positive,” he said.

Kavan added that the key challenge going forward was the supply side constraints as a result of the model launch delays due to the earthquake. UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd said there could be some disruptions in parts supplies from Japan. Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd in its statement early last month said it was “monitoring closely” the situation on the supply of parts. Proton Holdings Bhd was experiencing difficulties in getting some small components for its Inspira model, due to suppliers affected by the Japanese tsunami disaster.
Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) said its operations were affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Justice Has Been Done, Says Obama

This video frame grab obtained from ABC News showing the interior of the mansion where Osama Bin Laden was killed on Sunday. — Reuters picture

“Let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.” — US President Barack Obama

WASHINGTON: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with American forces in Pakistan on Sunday, President Barack Obama announced, ending a nearly 10-year worldwide hunt for the mastermind of the Sept 11 terror attacks. "Justice has been done," Obama said in a hastily called, late-night White House speech revealing the death of the elusive head of the militant group behind a series of bloody attacks in cities across the world.

His death, confirmed by officials in Pakistan, was a huge symbolic blow to al-Qaeda, which has been beaten back but is still a threat in many countries.

It prompted jubilant flag-waving celebrations here and in New York. It was the biggest national security victory for Obama since he took office in early 2009 and could give him a political boost as he seeks re-election in 2012. Obama may now find it easier to wind down the nearly decade-old war in Afghanistan, begun after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington that killed nearly 3,000.

But the operation could complicate relations with Pakistan, already frayed over United States drone strikes in the west of the country and the jailing of a CIA contractor accused of killing two Pakistani men. Obama said US forces led a targeted operation that killed Osama in a compound in Abbotabad, north of Islamabad. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.

A senior administration official said it was believed that three adults, besides Osama, were killed, including an adult son of Osama. Osama's death triggered a travel alert for Americans worldwide, the US State Department said, warning of the potential for anti-American violence. Thousands of people gathered outside the White House, waving American flags, cheering and chanting "USA, USA, USA".

Similar celebrations erupted in New York's Ground Zero, site of the World Trade Center twin towers felled by hijacked airplanes. Many Americans had given up hope of ever finding Osama after he vanished in the mountains of Afghanistan in late 2001.

Intelligence that originated last August provided the clues that eventually led to Osama's trail, the president said. A US official said Obama gave the final order to pursue the operation last Friday morning. "The US has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children," Obama said.

Former president George W. Bush, who vowed to bring Osama to justice "dead or alive" but never did, called the operation a "momentous achievement" after Obama called him with the news. Martin Indyk, a former US assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, described Osama's death as "a body blow" to al-Qaeda at a time when its ideology was already being undercut by the popular revolutions in the Arab world.

Other experts were more cautious. "It changes little in terms of on-the-ground realities -- by the time of his death, Osama was not delivering operational or tactical orders to the numerous al-Qaeda affiliates across the world," said Rick Nelson of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Statements of appreciation poured in from both sides of Washington's often divided political divide. Republican Senator John McCain declared, "I am overjoyed that we finally got the world's top terrorist". Said former president Bill Clinton: "I congratulate the president, the national security team and the members of our armed forces on bringing Osama bin Laden to justice after more than a decade of murderous al-Qaeda attacks."

Having the body may help convince any doubters that Osama is really dead. However, a US official said Osama had been buried at sea.

Finding a country willing to accept the remains of the world's most wanted terrorist would have been difficult, the official said. So the US decided to bury him at sea.

"We wanted to avoid a situation where it would become a shrine," another official said. -- Agencies