Cleaning up and rebuilding in Japan may be delayed due to a lack of manufacturing capacity of heavy machinery and related components needed to do the job. Exporting construction-related goods from Japan to other parts of the globe could also prove challenging, say suppliers.
In particular, heavy-equipment producers, such as Caterpillar Inc., Komatsu Ltd. and Hitachi Ltd. report that the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami have hit facilities used to source components and assemble whole goods. Companies have made donations to support relief efforts.