Toyota Motor Corp. rolled out vendor numbers recently that show increased procurement from its approximately 500 U.S. suppliers. In fiscal year ended March 31, Toyota purchased $7.04 billion in U.S. parts and materials--an 8.9% increase over last fiscal year--of which $1.61 billion was shipped to Japan for production and $5.43 billion went to U.S. works.
The rising percentage of U.S. content in its autos, says Toyota, is indicative of its plan to localize vehicle production. Since 1990 the percentage of Toyota vehicles both built and sold in the U.S. has risen from 33% to more than 60%.
