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3M says Japan rebuilding may cost $150 billion

18 March 2011 09:10 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. 3M Co. said Thursday that rebuilding work in earthquake-ravaged Japan may total as much as $150 billion, according to a report.

That’s higher than the $130 billion that 3M (NYSE: MMM) had projected for spending after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Bloomberg reported.

â€œEconomic activity will probably fall initially, but perversely, after a lull, the necessary rebuilding work will actually create faster growthâ€ with an estimated repair bill of $50 billion to $150 billion, 3M said during a presentation Thursday.

Company CFO Patrick Campbell said 3M, which makes many products useful in recovery and building, is well positioned to work on the recovery and is ramping up production of safety-related products in response to the quake.

â€œThe big issue in Japan right now is the logistics,â€ Campbell said.

The Maplewood-based company has five manufacturing plants and 2,700 employees in Japan, and about 9 percent of its sales come from that country.