Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it would suspend production at all of its domestic plants for 11 days in February and March in response to a slump in sales. The move underscores the rapidly deteriorating fortunes of Japan's auto giants, which have racked up bumper profits in recent years and invested heavily to expand their production facilities overseas. “We will suspend the operation of 12 Toyota factories in Japan for 11 more days,” a Toyota spokesman said. Japan's top automaker is already idling its domestic plants for three days in January to cope with rapidly worsening demand. The Japanese auto giant last month forecast its first-ever annual operating loss, blaming “an unprecedented crisis” in the global auto industry. Toyota, which vies with troubled US firm General Motors for the crown of the world's largest automaker, has already moved to reduce production at its domestic, US, Canadian and French factories. It also plans to lay off 3,000 temporary workers in Japan, where it builds cars for both domestic and overseas markets. Toyota reported Monday a 37 percent drop in US sales in December, capping a tough year during which the Japanese giant's sales in the world's biggest car market dropped 16 percent to 2.2 million vehicles. Toyota Motor shares ended 40 yen, or 1.33 percent, higher at 3,050 yen on Tuesday. Fewer Japanese are buying cars too. New vehicle sales in Japan slumped last year to the lowest level since 1974, an industry group said Monday. Domestic sales, excluding mini-vehicles, tumbled 6.5 percent from the previous year to 3.2 million units for a fifth straight annual decline. With its latest monthly US sales down by more than a third, Toyota is weighing further production cuts at its North American auto plants. It has mostly halted North American production this week as it tries to avoid an inventory overhang. In December, New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota to build vehicles in the United States, announced plans to close down for a couple of weeks over the next two months. The Fremont-based manufacturing plant is facing a backlog of unsold vehicles. NUMMI makes about 400,000 Pontiac Vibes, Toyota Corollas and Tacoma trucks a year.
