Toyota’s annual profit could slide 40%
 

Toyota, long a stalwart of the auto industry seemingly invulnerable to market fluctuations, is suffering just as much as its competitors, a new study finds. The world’s biggest automaker is set to make an official announcement of revised earnings estimates, as well as reduced production capacities in certain plants based on slow sales in the United States and Europe.

According to Nikkei of Japan, Toyota will post an operating profit somewhere around 1.3 trillion yen, or about $12.8 billion. That’s well below the automaker’s current forecast of 1.6 trillion yen, which was lowered earlier this year. A combination of the strong yen and weak sales particularly in North America pushed Toyota’s operating profit down 39 percent in the April-June period, potentially signaling what the rest of the year will look like for the automaker.

Toyota will also likely revise its overall sales estimate for the year. Previously, Toyota had suggested that 9.5 million units would be a realistic target.



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