Toyota triples estimate of losses

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TOKYO, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Toyota Motor Corp. in Japan revised its forecast for its fiscal year ending in March down sharply Friday, tripling its previous loss estimate.

Toyota said it expects it will lose $5 billion on the year, The New York Times reported. In December, the company estimated losses of $1.6 billion, a sharp turnaround from the previous year's gain of $28 billion and the first annual loss since the company began in 1937.

The company said it was hit hard by slumping sales, especially in North America, and the strength of the yen, which makes Japanese exports more expensive.

"Toyota is going to get worse before it gets better. The question is how quickly they can move to deal with inventory, excess production capacity and other problems," industry analyst Tairiku Sakaguchi at Shinko Securities told the Times.