Toyota is expected to make losses this financial year. This will be the company's first-ever loss since 1941. The company is suffering these losses because their largest market, North America, is undergoing an unprecedented recession.

This November, Toyota has reported a fall of 33.9% in sales in the U.S. market alone, which is not as much as the average decline of the three giant US automakers. Toyota's yearly figures are down by around 13% which is comparatively better than the current market slowdown which is approximately 16%.

Toyota has set an example for its mass production techniques, "The Toyota Way". The Toyota Way consists of 14 basic priniciples, and the company makes use of ERP systems like lean manufacturing, KANBAN, Just In Time (JIT) and Supply Chain Management, to name a few. This may be the only reason they have been able to successfully control the extent of their losses, unlike other manufactureres who were caught unaware when the recession hit. Toyota is expected to make a profit of only $555million, while last year's profit was $19.2billion.