Toyota to cut Japanese production in half

As the economic slowdown gains steam and people continue to buy fewer cars, manufacturers are hitting the brakes a little harder on production levels. Toyota is shutting down plants in Japan for 11 days, and more closures could come as the company says it will make half the number of cars from February to April as it did last year. That would take Toyota down to 9,000 cars per day as it grapples with ballooning inventory. With the near-term future predicted to be even bleaker and the need to align production with sales, we probably haven't seen the end of factory stoppage announcements.
[Source: Reuters]