Your call. The US market is still booming and Japan is sinking lower by the day... As I said Nissan is a turn around candidate in my opinion, and until it turns around it is not going to make you any money, so whether to sell or hold here is a personal decision based on your patience, your financial means, your commission expenses and the reason why you entered this trade in the first place. Good luck.
sg
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For personal use only
*(UPDATE) JAPAN'S MAY AUTO PRODUCTION PLUNGES 19.7%; DOWN 8TH STRAIGHT MONTH
[Dow Jones Online News,467 words]
TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Japan's production of cars, trucks and buses
tumbled a record 19.7% in May - the eighth straight monthly decline -
reflecting the country's floundering economy and the crisis in Asia.
Analysts said the decline spells trouble for Japanese auto makers as
well as the broader economy, and auto output is likely to continue
slumping at least through this autumn.
Domestic vehicle output totaled 714,887 units, the Japan Automobile
Manufacturers' Association said Wednesday. The 19.7% drop in May
followed a 14.1% drop in April and 10.6% drop in March.
Production of passenger cars plunged 18.1% in May, while truck output
sank 25.4% and bus output tumbled 17.8%. Domestic vehicle demand in May
fell 7.5% from a year earlier, the group said.
Vehicle production dropped steeply at all of Japan's auto makers.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s (TOYOY) output tumbled 20.4% to 223,602 vehicles,
Nissan Motor Co.'s (NSANY) sank 22.8% to 108,443, Mitsubishi Motors
Corp.'s dropped 20.0% to 75,210 and Honda Motor Co.'s (HMC) fell 15.3%
to 89,591.
Truck makers Hino Motors Ltd. and Nissan Diesel Motor Co. suffered
the biggest drops, with Hino's output tumbling 47.7% to 3,097 and Nissan
Diesel's falling 44.2% to 2,116. Daimler-Benz AG, the German luxury car
maker, is in talks regarding the possible purchase of a significant
stake in Nissan Diesel.
The association estimated vehicle exports in May fell 3%. It will
release complete figures later this month. The manufacturers association
also announced that Japan's motorcycle production fell 0.9% in May from
a year earlier.
Hiroyuki Mochida, a spokesperson at Japan Automobile Manufacturers
Association, said the 19.7% drop in May was the biggest drop on a
year-on-year basis since JAMA started keeping records in 1965. The last
time production dropped anywhere near that much was in June 1974, when
output tumbled 19.3% amid the first oil crisis.
The 714,887 vehicles produced in May was the lowest level recorded
for any month of May since May 1977 when auto makers produced 683,097
vehicles.
Mochida said production will likely continue to decline over the next
few months, although the association is hoping the situation will start
to improve in autumn when the government's 16 trillion yen ($114.8
billion) stimulus-package is expected to take effect. Mochida attributed
the continuing slide in auto production to sluggish domestic sales and
falling exports to Asia.
The association is expecting exports to have dropped 3% in May from a
year earlier, which would be the first such drop in 24 months.
Analysts agree that the picture is likely to remain bleak for the
next several months at least. Exports are also being hurt by efforts by
companies such as Nissan Motor to reduce high inventories in North
America. Final May export figures will be released later this month.
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