Today we got another clear cut sign of just how tough things have gotten for the auto industry. Japanese automaker Toyota (NYSE: TM) stated it is going to shut down factories for 11 days in February and March.The news comes on the heels of yesterday's announcement that the company had a dismal month of December, with sales dropping by 37% in America, worse than Ford (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM), which saw sales drop by 32%, and 31% respectively.
The lack of sales resulted in one big problem for the automaker -- excess inventories -- leaving the company with no choice but to shut down production to reduce output in the face of continued slowing auto sales. The shutdown is going to affect all 12 of its Japanese plants, and is in addition to an already announced three day shutdown in the same plants this month.
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