Disaster in Japan may reduce supply, raise price on cars and other goods

TAMPA - The iPad 2 is in high-demand.  At the Tampa Best Buy location where Lee Wilson works, he says it sold out in fewer than two hours the first day the iPad 2 was available.  "The iPad is huge when it comes to popularity. It's a gaming console. It's a library," said Wilson, a Best Buy Geek Squad Agent.

And it's going to be even harder to come-by. Five key iPad parts are made in Japan including semi-conductors and the touch screen components.

"The main panel is what you're touching on, on the iPad itself, it's reactive to your touch, it makes the screen move left to right, up down, if you're playing video games," said Wilson.

Most Best Buy stores are taking pre-orders, but the wait may be around six-weeks. The wait time online is about the same.

When it comes to Japanese-made cars, price increases could be in the future for some hybrid and fuel-efficient cars like the Toyota Prius. The Prius was already hard to find because of rising fuel prices.

Now production is stopped at two Japanese plants where Prius hybrids and some Lexus luxury models are made. An analyst with TrueCar.com says a Prius that may have sold under invoice a few weeks ago will soon be sold for more than the sticker price.

Analyst Jesse Tropak says there are about 20 cars that are only made in Japan, so they may become harder to find or go up in price. The list includes the Toyota Yaris, the Honda Fit, Insight and CRV and some Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura models.

It's not just Toyota keeping a close eye on its Japanese plants. Companies like Nissan and even Ford say it's a fluid, unpredictable situation.

A Ford spokesperson says they rely on a Sanyo plant in southern Japan for batteries for three hybrids including the Ford Fusion but so far he says the plant has not been affected.