The rise of China as an economic and political power no doubt has Japan a little worried, not least because the Chinese are getting rather good at doing what the Japanese have done for so long, namely making stuff. Add to this the tsunami and flooding in Japan and Thailand respectively, you might wonder if Japanese businesses - carmakers in particular - are on the lookout for some sort of industrial-level equivalent to annual breakdown cover.

 

Alas, none exists and no insurer would dare to dream it up, such are the risks. But news that US sales of Japanese cars have increased by 20% in January will no doubt hearten quite a few Japanese auto CEOs. Toyota, which recently lost its crown of the world's biggest carmaker to US car giant GM, enjoyed a 7.5% in sales, mainly due to the launch of the new Camry model, which had quite a buzz about it when sales for the car leaped a whopping 56%.

 

It seems that Japanese carmakers' supply chains are back to normal now, but that doesn't take the heat off famous car marques such as Nissan, Honda and Toyota. They will have to work hard to maintain their strong positions, not only because old rival America is starting to do rather well in the auto-making arena, but because the Chinese are here, and they'll do anything to get a piece of the global car manufacturing pie.