Toyota production back to normal by end of the year

The automaker saw global manufacturing slow after the tragic earthquake and tsunami activity of last month, though pre-disaster levels of production may return in Japan as soon as July. Meanwhile, shipping delays will cause manufacturing at the company's overseas plants to begin to normalize beginning in August. It will then take another two months for production to completely meet earlier targets.

Currently, Toyota's Japanese facilities are operating at around 50-percent of capacity, though as The Detroit News reports, parts shortages have caused production delays at the company's plants around the world. While Toyota says that it will continue to work with its standard parts providers, the automaker has also made it clear that it will explore substitute suppliers as it continues to push toward returning to pre-quake output levels.