With the American auto industry in the tank, German producers halting production during December, and Toyota reporting a full year loss, it was just a matter of time this type of information hit the newswire:
Vehicle production in Japan, home to Toyota Motor Corp. and other major automakers, plunged 20.4 percent in November compared to the same month a year ago to 854,171 vehicles, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said.
That marked the second straight month of on-year declines and the percentage slide was the biggest since the group began compiling such data in 1967, it said.
Production of passenger cars in Japan decreased 20.3 percent in November from the previous year to 737,797 vehicles, while production of trucks here declined 20.9 percent for the month to 106,170.
If demand continues to drop the Japanese automakers will be turning to someone for an infusion of capital. It doesn’t matter how well run the company is, if no one is buying your product you cannot meet your capital demands.
Just for the record, here is a breakdown of cash/debt levels of Japanese and US automakers:
Japanese
US
Related posts:
- December Auto sales are miserable, and we knew this, but the surprise of the pack was Chrysler
- An update on auto sales, the gall of GM and ADP Unemployment report
- Ford CEO Sees No Auto Recovery Until 2010, Bankruptcy "is not in our consideration"
- Toyota delays U.S. assembly plant that was to make Prius, but shows how balanced it is as a company.
- Look beyond our borders for economic data