Toyota cuts North American production

Toyota Motor Corp., the world's largest car maker, said it would cut production at several North American plants over the next few months in a bid to halve its inventory of vehicles.

Toyota shares gained nearly three per cent in Tokyo, outperforming the overall market.

Automakers are grappling with slumping sales in the mature markets of North America, Europe and Japan as well as slowing sales in emerging markets such as India, China and Russia amid a spreading global recession. Toyota's announcement followed a newspaper report that Nissan Motor Co. would move production of its key subcompact to Thailand from Japan as part of a structural overhaul to cut costs.

Toyota, which has warned it will post its first ever annual operating loss this business year, said its inventory of North American-built vehicles was 80-90 days, having doubled in the past year. It hopes to cut it by half in the second quarter.

Toyota said last week it would halt production at its Japanese plants for 11 days next month and March.