Ford suspends production in the Philippines

US car giant Ford has suspended production at its assembly plant in the Philippines partly due to a shortage of parts from Japan.

Ford Group Philippines said it started the 18-day temporary halt in production on Monday.

It said in a statement today that the suspension includes a planned shutdown for next week's Easter holiday and the early use of scheduled downtime to minimise any disruption.

It added that parts would be available when production resumes.

Ford has said its Asia-Pacific operations may have to slow down or stop production later this month because of parts shortages from Japan.