Swedish truck maker AB Volvo said today it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter, hurt by a steep fall in demand, the costs of production cutbacks and more expensive raw materials, The Associated Press reported. The Goteborg-based company posted a net loss of 1.4 billion kronor ($120 million) in the quarter, compared with a profit of 4.1 billion kronor in the same three months a year earlier. The company said the truck market in its main markets _ Europe, North America and Japan _ stayed weak, with a lower amount of orders. That led to a drop in fourth-quarter sales, to around 77 billion kronor from 84.6 billion kronor in the same quarter in 2007. The company said that although its decision to reduce inventories by slashing production helps boost its cash flow, the measure takes time to affect costs.
