Toyota Japan orders 11-day production halt as pessimism grows

Toyota intends to temporarily suspend output at all of its 12 plants in Japan, including four that roll out vehicles.Â

Toyota had already announced a three-day production halt for January at its 12 directly operated Japanese plants -- four car assembly plants and eight for engines, transmissions and other components.

Last month, Toyota forecast its first-ever operating loss in the current fiscal year through March, as it feels the pinch from the strength in the yen and a recession-induced slump in vehicle sales in key markets like the United States, Europe and Japan.

Japanese-built cars make up around 40 percent of Toyota's sales in the United States, where foreign-made cars and trucks have been piling up at ports and dealers' yards.

Automakers everywhere are cutting back production as consumers, hit by tight credit, shy away from big-ticket purchases even as companies dangle generous sales incentives.

Toyota's domestic rivals Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have both cut output plans by at least 200,000 vehicles for the year to end-March, and analysts expect further adjustments in January-March.