Honda to Cut Light Truck Output at U.S. Plant

Tokyo, July 22, 2008; Honda Motor Co. will reduce production of gas-guzzling light trucks at its Alabama plant, as demand is falling in the U.S. market amid soaring gasoline prices, Honda officials said Tuesday.

Between August and October this year, Honda plans to reduce production of the Odyssey minivan and the Pilot sport-utility vehicle at the Alabama plant by a total of 10,000 units.

As the cutback is small compared with the plant's annual output capacity of 300,000 units, Honda has no plans to slash its workforce, the officials said.

Meanwhile, Honda will boost production of the Civic compact car at its East Liberty plant in Ohio to cope with a stock shortage resulting from brisk sales.

In January-June this year, Honda saw its new vehicle sales in the U.S. market rise 4 pct from a year earlier, becoming the only company among the top six manufacturers to score a sales increase thanks to its efforts to boost its compact car business

Source:JCN