Toyota Halts Prius Production in Mississippi - Lesson Learned After Producing Unwanted Tundras?

Toyota has officially placed development of their Mississippi plant on hold, which is an added setback to the auto industry’s contributions to the U.S. economy. This plant, which is about 90% developed, was erected to house Priora production beginning in 2010. Since Prius sales have decreased over the past couple of months, Toyota is being prudent by suspending hiring and plant development until the market recovers. Smart move. In contrast, Toyota recently decided to resume production of their Tundra trucks, only because their inventory was depleting. Sales had actually decreased substantially, and Toyota failed to hit their Tundra sales mark at the end of 4Q 2008. Is it standard practice to produce products for the sake of restocking inventory, even if they aren’t selling well? Even the regional dealerships are wary of this idea. One general manager of a Muncie, IN, Toyota said in November, “If I don’t see another Tundra until January, I’ll be happy.” Well, it turns out Toyota North America felt the same way. The overproduced Tundras were shipped to the Middle East and Latin America.