Japan Auto Export Decline Continues for Fifth Month

Japan’s exports of cars, trucks and buses fell 15.1% in November from a year earlier to 516,928 units, the sharpest decline on record, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Assn. said today.

Officials of the association said the drop was the largest since 1979 when it adopted its current method of record-keeping.

It followed a 9.4% decline in October over the same month the previous year.

November was the fifth consecutive month in which Japan’s motor vehicle exports fell short of the year-earlier levels.

The slump in exports resulted from faltering demand in the major markets for Japanese motor vehicles, due mainly to the yen’s steep appreciation since late 1985, the officials said.