Japanese firms widen lead in per-car profit
From the Associated Press
Japanese automakers widened their profit-making gap over the Detroit Three last year by 32%, according to a study released Tuesday.
The profit gap, which already was significant in 2005 at $2,899 per vehicle sold in North America, widened by $915 to $3,814, according to the study of industry costs and profits by Laurie Harbour-Felax of Stout Risius Ross, a Chicago-based financial and operational advisory firm.
The study found that although General Motors Corp. had improved its efficiency and cut production costs, the automaker and its Detroit counterparts, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group, still had a long way to go to match the profits of Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co.
