Hino delays new RI plant

Hino delays new RI plant

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Hino Motors Ltd. is to postpone building
a truck plant in Indonesia and slash its staff in Thailand due to
the region's economic woes, officials said yesterday.

The company, Japan's major truck maker and a member of the
Toyota Motor Corp. group, would delay construction in Indonesia
for a few years as truck sales had plunged more than 50 percent,
an official for Hino said.

"The sales in Indonesia dropped sharply due to the economic
and currency crisis there and we have decided to delay
construction until the market recovers," the official said.

The company would cut the number of staff at its plant in
Thailand from 700 to 300 "for the same reasons seen in
Indonesia," the official said.

Hino Motor's plant in Thailand has a capacity to produce 1,300
trucks a month, with annual output at 14,600 units, the official
added.