Chubu Electric Power Co., the utility that supplies power to Toyota Motor Co., said sales to industrial users may have fallen in October for the third straight month as the slowdown in the U.S. economy hits Japanese exports.
A three-month fall would be the longest since April 2002, when the Nagoya-based utility experienced a nine-month drop in industrial demand, Vice President Masahiro Kakumu said Thursday, declining to specify which firms were cutting purchases. About 40 percent of Chubu Electric's industrial sales are to manufacturers, including Sharp Corp. and automakers led by Toyota.