Slumping US market hurts Japanese automakers

The slumping U.S. auto market reduced vehicle production in August at most major Japanese automakers, according to data released Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp., the nation's top automaker, saw worldwide production dive 15.5 percent last month from a year earlier at 626,745 vehicles.

Toyota marked its on-year overseas production decrease in more than six years amid a slowdown in Europe and North America, while production in sluggish Japan also dropped on year, it said.

Honda Motor Co. reported its best vehicle production ever in China for August but saw production in troubled U.S. plunge 10.2 percent from the previous year. Japan's second biggest …