US-Iran deal may not bring quick relief for auto shops

Tokyo auto repair shops are running out of motor oil, paint thinner and diesel exhaust fluid, with smaller garages losing out as bigger buyers stockpile and automakers get priority, write Daniel Leussink and Kalea Hall from Tokyo and Detroit

- Daniel Leussink and Kalea Hall

Tokyo auto shops and Detroit car dealerships have been running short of motor oil, paint and other products for months since the Middle East conflict snarled global supply chains.

Now, while a potential deal between the US and Iran may bring an end to the fighting, industry experts and executives say it is unlikely to deliver immediate relief to the smaller shops that have been squeezed by Tehran's shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. Closure of the strait has blocked almost a fifth of global oil flows and led to bottlenecks for some petroleum-derived products.

US President Donald J Trump said on Monday a preliminary agreement to end the war has been signed by both countries, although details remain unclear and it may take some time for shipments through the strait to return to normal.

Hiroyuki Nakamura has already spent the past few months trying to ride out a shortage of motor oil, the first he’s ever seen in 35 years repairing cars.

“Oil supplies were almost completely wiped out after the war started in March. Since April, nothing has been coming in,” said Mr Nakamura, a director at Shin-Etsu Denso, a Tokyo-based auto-repair company.

Business has also been hit by a shortage of paint thinner and diesel exhaust fluid, he said. Mr Nakamura, like other mechanics, executives and officials interviewed for this report, spoke to Reuters before the announcement of the proposed deal between Washington and Tehran.