A rebound in demand has prompted Japanese bearing manufacturer NTN Corp. (TSE:6472) to end its 18-month capital spending hiatus in its U.S. automotive bearings business.

The firm recently introduced new production equipment at a plant in the state of Illinois and began mass-producing new hub bearings used by Ford Motor Co. in pickup trucks. The plant's output of small-vehicle hub bearings is expected to be increased 10-20 per cent as well.

A new line for constant-velocity joints will be installed at a plant in Columbus, Indiana, during 2010. The firm has not disclosed how much production there will increase.

Overall, NTN plans to invest some 3 billion yen (US$31.94 million) in the two U.S. plants this year.

Since the financial crisis erupted, the company had held off on new capital spending in North America because of a severe slump in automobile sales. It now aims to increase production volume quickly and expand supplies to U.S. and Japanese finished automakers.

In addition, it is greatly expanding autoparts manufacturing in China and other emerging nations as it looks to strengthen its production structure globally.

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