Washington, D.C.–July 25, 2005–The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) announced that its members purchased a record-setting $45.24 billion in U.S. auto parts during the past fiscal year (April 2004 - March 2005), according to a new fact sheet released on JAMA's Web site, www.jama.org. These purchases represent a 9 percent increase over fiscal 2003 purchases and a more than 18-fold increase over the $2.49 billion in purchases in fiscal 1986.

On releasing the fact sheet, JAMA USA General Director William C. Duncan said, "Today's announcement of parts purchases is another indication of the significant contribution that the Japanese automobile manufacturers have been making to the U.S. economy over the past two decades."

The fact sheet, which JAMA provides annually, reports that in 2004 JAMA members:

• Employed 55,795 persons in their manufacturing plants, a 407 percent increase over the 11,000 employed in 1987.
• Cumulatively invested nearly $28 billion in U.S. auto and auto parts manufacturing plants, a 150 percent increase since 1993 when total contributions equaled $11 billion. The number of plants grew from 11 in 1993 to 25 today and will grow to 28 by 2006.
• Produced nearly 3.2 million vehicles in the U.S., a more than five-fold increase over the 617,000 cars and trucks built in 1986.
• Employed 359,905 Americans at their 7,066 U.S. dealerships, an increase over the 281,000 employees working at 6,400 dealerships in 1993.
• Grew their R&D staff to 3,065 from 200 in 1987.

Duncan added that these contributions go beyond the numbers to include the introduction of cutting edge production technology, research and development, product innovation, improved vehicle safety, environmental solutions, and new designs.

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.

JAMA, located in Tokyo, has offices in Washington, D.C., Brussels, Beijing and Singapore.