Toyota To Cease Production For 11 Days

Plans Shutdown Of All 12 Japanese Plants In February And March As It Fights Plunging Sales

(CBS/AP)  Toyota is suspending production at all 12 of its Japan plants for 11 days over February and March, a stoppage of unprecedented scale for the nation's top automaker as it grapples with shrinking global demand.

The last time Toyota Motor Corp. halted production at all its Japan plants was in August 1993, when demand plunged because of a rising yen, and that was for only one day, according to the company.

A global economic downturn has hammered the auto industry in Japan and elsewhere, forcing carmakers to cut staff, lower production and delay new models. Major automakers in the U.S. had teetered on the brink of collapse until securing a multibillion dollar government lifeline.

"We are coping with a slump in global sales," Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma said Tuesday. "Demand in the world auto market is so depressed that every model is falling sharply in sales."

Sales, which have been weak for several years, are expected to plunge by almost 5 percent this year, reports CBS News Radio correspondent Lucy Craft.

Speculation is now mounting about whether all of Japan's eight automakers will be able to ride out the global recession, reports Craft.

Toyota said last year that it was stopping production at its 12 domestic plants for three days in January. But it decided on additional closures because of the global downturn. Toyota will stop output for six days in February and five days in March, it said.

Of Toyota's domestic factories, four produce vehicles while the rest make engines and auto parts.

Overnight, Toyota reported that its U.S. sales in December were down 37 percent on the year, a worse drop than Ford Motor Co.'s 32 percent drop and General Motor's 31 percent slide.

Toyota last year suspended production at its auto plants in Alabama, Indiana and Texas for three months, and shut down output for two days in December at all its North American vehicle factories including five in the United States, one in Canada and another in Mexico.

Chrysler LLC also shut down its plants for a month in December, longer than the usual two-week break, while GM has said it would shut down a plant in Thailand for up to two months.

Last month, Toyota said it was slipping into its first operating loss in 70 years, expecting 150 billion yen ($1.66 billion) of operating losses for the fiscal year ending March 2009.

Toyota, which makes the Prius gas-electric hybrid and Camry sedan, expects 50 billion yen ($555 million) in net profit, down from 1.7 trillion yen earned the previous year.

[photogeezer]

If Hyundai, Kia and others are smart, they''ll make a quality car, especially a small station wagon and/or van, at a significantly lower price and clean the big 3 Japanese makers'' clock. Toyota and the others have been price gouging us long enough, for products that are not as durable as they were 10 years ago. My daughter''s Corolla has clouded-over headlight lenses, two busted door handles and other quality issues. My co-worker has to pay $1,000 for headlights for his Prius. May as well buy a Hyundai.

[cbscrash072]

Why pay $4,000 extra for a Toyota. Ford or GM will give you thousands to buy their car and its just as good if not better.

[mt_guy]

Even Toyota, with its forward thinking approach to building vehicles, has missed the fact that people with limited incomes buy cars. I bought a new 4-cyl, 5-spd, 4WD sport truck back in 1994. It has basically 206,000 trouble free miles on it. I paid $14,600 for it.

In searching for a replacement, the closest thing Toyota has that''s similarly configured is right around $28,000. Let''s say that''s a 100% increase in 14 years.

I think part of their problem is putting things on their vehicles that the owner really doesn''t need... like a tire pressure monitoring system.

***?

Part of their problem is trying to get the price of the vehicles up by putting standard equipment on them that the operator really doesn''t need. While I''d like to buy a Toyota Tacoma as my eventual replacement vehicle, things have to change drastically before I''ll make that move.

[pkelly79]

They have plants in North America - the American taxpayers should bail them out.

[jamesblame]

A Shinto priest purifies a Toyota Lexus at Kanda Myojin, a shrine for Commerce and Industry, in Tokyo, Jan. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)

Maybe they should go union to change their luck

[ddaryl1]

its the UAW''s fault [/sarcasm]

[ddaryl1]

its the UAW''s fault [/sarcasm]

[ddaryl1]

its the UAW''s fault [/sarcasm]

[whitemale08]

Toyota auto workers are going to have to take a 50% pay cut to be competitive again.

Like the UAW was told to get rid of ''middle-class'' wages and benifits for the sake of ''free-trade'', non-unions need to look to ''globalization'' as their god and sacrifice their already struggling families to the god of globalization.

[credibility2]

Perhaps the global demand wouldn''t be as dire if individuals had consistent work that afforded discretionary money to pay for this large of an expense. I need to replace my car, but can''t afford to take on an expense in excess of $275/month for four years or more.

[credibility2]

Why has my post been blocked? This makes no sense.

[whitemale08]

Toyota auto workers are going to have to take a 50% pay cut to be competitive again.

Like the UAW was told to get rid of ''middle-class'' wages and benifits for the sake of ''free-trade'', non-unions need to look to ''globalization'' as their god and sacrifice their already struggling families to the god of globalization.

[irmcvet971]

I wonder if the Southern Nazi Senators are going to demand the workers at TOYOTA give up their benefits?? ROFLMAO Sieg Heil Y''all

[otiswestfall]

The end is near. I hope we can all starve in peace without having to deal with cannibalism.

[zzy-izzy]

Well what happend hear and they do not have the UAW to blame but we can blame the REPUBLICANS for shure

[zzy-izzy]

Well what happend hear and they do not have the UAW to blame but we can blame the REPUBLICANS for shure