Japan's Automobile Manufacturers: Growing Investment and Employment in America (Updated)
[July 2005]

Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA)* membersí economic contributions to America are growing. Our cumulative investment in U.S. auto and auto parts manufacturing plants grew from $11 billion in 1993 to nearly $28 billion today, a 150 percent increase. The number of plants grew from 11 in 1993 to 25 today and will grow to 28 by 2006. These manufacturing plants, which employed about 11,000 in 1987, employed 55,795 persons in 2004, a 407 percent increase.

In 1986 our members produced 617,000 cars and trucks in these U.S. manufacturing plants. In 2004 this production had grown to nearly 3.2 million vehicles in the U.S., a five-fold increase.

Our purchases of U.S. auto parts have kept pace with this growth in production. Our parts purchases grew to a record high of $45.24 billion in fiscal year 2004, a more than 18-fold increase over the $2.49 billion in purchases in fiscal year 1986.

We not only build cars and trucks and purchase parts in America, we also conduct significant automotive research and development here. Our R&D staff in the U.S. has grown steadily from 200 in 1987 to 3,065 in 2004. The number of U.S. auto dealers that sell Japanese-brand vehicles grew from 6,400 dealers employing 281,000 Americans in 1993 to 7,066 dealers employing 359,905 Americans in 2004.

Our contributions to America go beyond investment, employment and parts purchases. Our companies are leaders in automotive quality, safety, fuel economy, productivity and environmental technology. Our member companies and our employees generously contribute money and time to worthy charities in local communities across the country.

* JAMA member companies include Daihatsu Motor Co., Fuji Heavy Industries (Subaru), Hino Motors, Honda Motor Co., Isuzu Motors, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mazda Motor Corporation, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation, Nissan Diesel Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., Suzuki Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Yamaha Motor Co. For details about our manufacturing facilities in the U.S, please see pages 2 and 3.