[Rev28K]

I recieved this email from one of the importers of 2nd hand cars today -

Since the earthquake last week Japan has obviously been suffering all sorts of crises, besides the terrible human impact there are also power outages and fuel rationing. This is naturally causing disruption to the auction and transport systems. At the moment we are taking it one day at a time, some auctions are still operating, others are closed. Some have temporarily moved to another day of the week.

Transport from auction is likely to be delayed once cars are bought.

We will endeavour to operate business as usual, however given the scale of the devastation we expect it will take some considerable time for things to get back to some form of normality.

As for the ongoing implications, we expect vehicle numbers at auction to fall significantly, this is likely to impact on prices which were already rising in some cases due to low vehicle numbers reflecting the struggling Japanese economy. Exchange rates and finance markets are also jittery with the Yen to AUD dropping from 83 to 80 currently. All this is likely to be very volatile in coming weeks, and could swing either way.

We have some challenging times ahead but as always will continue to do our best to assist customers to find their special vehicle.

Naturally we wish anyone with friends and family in Japan all the very best.