Market Report - Toyota Temporarily Closes Plants

WONG:
World No.1 Toyota, hit by slumping global car sales, will halt output at all Japanese plants for 11 days in February and March.

The company, going from billions in record profit to a current loss forecast, already plans a shutdown of domestic plants for three days this month.

President Katsuaki Watanabe told Reuters Tuesday at a New Year's party that Toyota is just adapting to current global conditions.

[Katsuaki Watanabe, President, Toyota Motor]:
"The world market is becoming smaller and that's the environment we have to operate a business in, so plant expansion will be difficult."

Watanabe warned two weeks ago of Toyota's first ever operating loss, as December U.S. sales plummeted 37 percent, worse than rivals Honda and Nissan and struggling GM and Ford.

A sweeping suspension of Japan production is almost unprecedented, but Tokyo Stock Exchange President Atsushi Saito said Toyota has billions in profit to weather the storm.

[Atsushi Saito, President, Tokyo Stock Exchange]:
"Toyota is suffering, I heard, but they are also very cash rich, behind their pockets probably they have 2 trillion yen in cash, in contrast to just two months worth of liquidity of General Motors pockets."

The car giant says cost-cuts will help it recover, while the global financial crisis continues to keep consumers from big-ticket buying.

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[twizatch]

So what now? You're golden child, Toyota, is now operating at a loss. No one can / wants to buy new cars, Toyota had to stop building its new US plant in Mississippi (which is a very expensive decision), and the Japanese government is actually bailing them out, no questions asked....

Who's to blame senator??? I would blame the US Automakers for Toyota's problems too. Why not right? Lord knows we can't blame our pigheaded congressmen.