I know that nissan are doing the same thing for parts. I have issues at times ordering electronic assemblies and sometimes panel work. they simply say they are stopping production until the production target is reached.
two aftermarket companies I deal with do the same thing. I will request stock, wait two weeks for an invoice and wait a further 2 weeks for stock to arrive. when talking to them the are making the order when I order it.
for someone at my level (small business) it is fine to hold minimal stock but I can't really see the logic in the process they are using.
that could well explain why most are sourcing from china now. whilst japan is sliding down the ladder financially and labour costs are high china is winning due to low labour and the get it out there attitude.
already been through a fisical japan year. I get reminded of sales targets to which my reply is: oz is 22milion people. so the entire population will just about fit in the city of tokyo. something that most jap suppliers seem to miss.. ( big country - small population)
FWIW Oz ain't doing that much better. there are days that I'm twiddling my thumbs because the markets are right off pace and then days that everyone loads up the credit cards again. there is not a even spread of market like there was 3-4 years back. same issue as japan - the overspenders aren't doing it anymore as the money is not there.
the RAWs situation is the same. they are struggling for a market s well. its a global issue overall I think.
my 2c