FACTORIES GRIND TO A HALTThe earthquake has also brought auto and chip factories to a halt, exposing the vulnerability of Japan's manufacturing supply chains, a decade after a devastating quake in the same region triggered widespread industry disruption. Kumamoto is critical to Japan's auto industry and known as well as the country's "Silicon Valley" due to its concentration of semiconductor firms. Denso, the world's second-biggest auto parts maker, said one of its suppliers in the area had reported impact from the quake and 13 others were assessing the situation. Given Japan's proneness to disasters, manufacturers have for decades sought to strengthen the resilience of parts supply. Chipmaker Renesas said it would only be able to resume operations at one of its Kumamoto plants - which had fallen ceiling panels, cracks in walls ​and some water leaks - in phases from Aug 5.