AFSCME 3357-HOF'S BLOG

Toyota profit up 55% to $10 Billion

Toyota is a lot more profitable than GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler combined.
Once you get behind in the car business, it's hard to catch up. Toyota, for example, can put a lot more money into engineering new models and modernizing plants. That being said, you can come from behind under the right circumstances. When I came to UAW Legal Services in 1998, the big talk was whether or not Ford would take over Nissan. At that time, Nissan was struggling on the brink of bankruptcy, and Ford was doing well thanks to SUV and truck sales. Ford declined to take over Nissan due to concerns over unfunded pension liability. Instead, Renault became the white knight. Nissan got some money to finish its product development, and within a couple model years Nissan revamped its entire line of cars and trucks and became a profit machine. Now, back to Ford, here we are going into 2005, and most of the Ford models are basically the same as in 1999, Ford struggles to break even on a quarterly level. Oh well.

The New York Times > Business > World Business > Toyota Yearly Profit Up 55% on Sales and Cost-Cutting