Most automakers reported stronger 2011 sales Wednesday.

An exception was American Honda Motor Co., which dealt with parts supply disruptions after a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Northern Japan and flooding in Thailand later in the year. Honda — which has more than 13,000 Ohio workers, including about 1,300 who commute from the Dayton area — reported annual sales down 7.1 percent compared to 2010, to just over 1.1 million vehicles.

An Ohio spokesman for Honda of America Manufacturing, Ron Lietzke, said the automaker is looking forward to a stronger 2012. A second shift has started on a production line at the company’s Marysville, Ohio plant, and workers in Ohio are working Saturday overtime hours to beef up inventories, although Lietzke declined to say exactly how many extra hours are being worked.

“We’re doing that because we see a recovery of the automotive market and the economy taking place,” Lietzke said Wednesday.

In the aftermath of natural disasters, Honda saw decreased production in Ohio and elsewhere from April to November, although the company laid off no workers in the Buckeye State.

“Those were human disasters, but we had to deal with them,” Lietzke said.

General Motors Co., co-owner of the DMAX truck engine plant in Moraine, saw total 2011 sales rise 13.7 percent, or more than 2.5 million vehicles total, compared to 2010. (Total vehicle sales include medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The DMAX plant produces diesel engines for many of those larger trucks.)

Toyota Motors Sales, affected by the same disasters which impacted Honda, reported annual sales of just over 1.6 million vehicles, down nearly 7 percent from 2010.

Ford Motor Co. said its U.S. sales totalled just over 2 million vehicles in 2011, sealing what it called its “first three-point market share gain over three consecutive years since 1970.”

Nissan posted a 15 percent increase for the full year. The company also reported a record high for December with a 7 percent increase.

Automakers said they expect continued growth in 2012, although their optimism was somewhat tempered. Ford expects the U.S. economy to expand 2 to 3 percent this year and industry sales to be 13.5 million to 14.5 million nationally.

GM said it expects national sales in the range of 13.5 million to 14 million vehicles

“When we add improving economic fundamentals to pent-up demand and an aging vehicle fleet, it’s now clear that auto sales should continued to grow in 2012, barring a shock to the system,” Don Johnson, GM’s vice president, U.S. sales operations, said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2350 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.