Toyota to report first operational loss in over 60 years

You know things have to be bad if an auto maker's CEO won't even answer a question about forecasting the number of vehicles that the company would like to sell the proceeding year. But that is exactly the case with Toyota, who with the down turn in its key US market, is forecasting the first year of operational loss for the company since 1941.

Toyota lowered its net profit forecast to just 50 billion yen ($555 million) for the year through March 2009 -- a tiny fraction of the 1.7 trillion yen it earned the previous fiscal year.Toyota also lowered the number of vehicles it expects to sell globally this calendar year to 8.96 million, down 4 percent from a year ago. Earlier this year, Toyota had expected to sell 9.5 million vehicles around the world in 2008. (AP)

This is yet another sad report of the state of affairs. With the Detroit Big Three suffering indelible losses, the fact that the auto bailout is on tap should actually benefit Toyota as Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors get back on their feet. If it doesn't happen soon, there could be even more doom and gloom coming from the Japanese auto makers. Granted, they are in better shape than the American auto makers, but the decline is certainly nothing to smirk at.

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Toyota to report first operational loss in over 60 years

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