Asahi Glass Cuts U.S. Production of Automotive Glass by 10%

Asahi Glass Co., Japan´s largest glassmaker, said it has reduced U.S. output of automotive glass by about 10 percent as a slump in new vehicle sales in North America crimps demand.

The company operates processing plants in Kentucky and Ohio that can together produce glass for about 3 million vehicles a year, company spokesman Hiroyuki Wakasugi said today by telephone. The Tokyo-based glassmaker hasn´t decided how long the reduced output will continue, he said.

The cutback, reported earlier in the Nikkei newspaper, comes two months after the company announced a plan to scale back production of construction glass because of a U.S. housing slump and higher raw material costs.

Asahi Glass said April 17 it will shut some factories, eliminating 900 jobs and 40 percent of capacity.

The company´s shares fell 1.5 percent to 1,360 yen as of 10:29 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.