Toyota’s Japan  production (all vehicles and brands) slumped 46.5 percent in May to 156,379 units. Overseas production did not fare much better, falling 43.3 percent to 196,073 units. All in all, Toyota’s global production plummeted 44.7 percent in May to just 352,452 units. Could it be any worse? Yes, it can:  Exports from Japan cratered 61.7 percent to  47,167 units.

When Akio Toyota predicted a “bottom hit” of total production for May or June, he was not exaggerating.  His company however is recovering faster than originally predicted. According to an emailed statement, “Toyota forecasts its domestic overseas production levels, already at 90 percent in June, to return to near pre-earthquake planned levels in July and return production able to meet consumer needs in November or December.”

Toyota will produce an additional 350,000 vehicles in Japan from October through March 2012 to make up for lost production. From previous statements, we still believe that most of this extra production will fall into the first quarter if 2012.