Toyota Idles Japanese Plants for 11 Days

The financial recession is surely one of the most popular news subjects nowadays since reports about struggling automakers continue to come on a daily basis. Today's piece of news concerns Toyota, the Japanese carmaker which aims to become Canada's second largest car manufacturer, just after General Motors but before Chrysler and Ford Motor. However, this can only be bad news for both Toyota and the automotive industry as the company gets ready for a new cost-cutting measure, this time concerning the Japanese production facilities.

So, according to Reuters, Toyota plans to halt production of all its Japanese factories for no less than 11 days in February and March, as part of a broader attempt to minimize loses caused by the economic downturn and to align production with market demand. Despite the fact that Toyota has already issued a cost-cutting plan, sales remain on a descending trend, the Japanese publication NHK reported, so a temporary production halt seems to make sense.

The most important cost-cutting measure came in November when Toyota reduced production by 950,000 units, Reuters wrote quoting the aforementioned source, but the company is now forced to reduce inventories in order to prevent more losses that may be caused by declining sales.

On the other hand, Toyota sales go pretty well in markets such as Canada where the company fights for the country's second largest automaker spot with powerful companies such as Ford and Chrysler. And according to analysts, Toyota has the ability to reach its goal, taking into account that Toyota has a strong product lineup, including hybrid models and small-displacement vehicles. The Japanese manufacturer said that about 10,000 Prius models were delivered to Canada.