Toyota's U.S. 1st Quarter Sales Plunge 15%

Toyota Motor Corp. reported nearly a 15% drop in quarterly US auto sales on Friday, as a semiconductor and parts shortage triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic kept inventories tight.

Photo Insert: The auto industry is still grappling with a global chip shortage that has forced companies to cut production.

The auto industry is still grappling with a global chip shortage that has forced companies to cut production, although high car prices have partially offset its impact.

The Japanese automaker said first-quarter sales fell 14.7% to 514,592 vehicles.

Supply bottlenecks started to ease in recent months, but the progress was stalled by Russia's war against Ukraine as well as new lockdowns in China following a resurgence in COVID-19 infections.

"Inventory will take time to build because a large number of vehicles that are coming in now are already sold to someone. So unfortunately we are likely going to have soft numbers for at least a few more months," Morningstar analyst David Whiston said.

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