Toyota, Experiencing Its First Operating Loss

Toyota, Experiencing Its First Operating Loss

Analysis Paper

The points and arguments of this article were clearly stated. The article included many factual details and was thorough in explaining why Toyota would be experiencing its first operating loss in 70 years. The article was easily understandable to a lay person. The article also explained the history of Toyota and how it developed over time into a major auto company.
The facts were substantiated with financial statistics. For example, the article gave the actual numbers that Toyota anticipated its operating loss to be ($1.66 billion) and the amount of change from the previous year. The article also stated factors that contributed to this change in Toyota’s financial picture, such as the general worldwide financial crisis and the weakness of the dollar against the yen, and the signs that consumers are less willing to invest in large purchases, such as automobiles, in light of the credit crunch, rising unemployment, and other economic worries.

The arguments were convincing, although the article was reporting on Toyota’s own forecasts for the coming year. The article did not really go into any analytical detail as to how Toyota’s numbers compared to the forecasts of the other car companies except in the most general terms. For example, the article mentioned that Honda also lowered its forecasts, but it didn’t go into any financial detail. The references to the American car companies were also vague. The article mentioned that the Japanese car company was in better shape than the ‘cash strapped American’ companies, but again, no real detail. The article does not explain whether the downturn is affecting all of the American car companies equally, nor does it mention other manufacturers, such as Volkswagen or Hyundai.

Opposing viewpoints did not appear to be presented in the article. No where in the article did the author attempt to analyze the basis of Toyota’s forecasts or whether there was any possibility of Toyota trying to lower...

Similar Essays