April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second- largest automaker, cut production 38 percent last month as sales in the U.S., Japan and Europe slumped.

Output fell to 215,773 vehicles in March, the Tokyo-based automaker said in a statement today. Exports declined 58 percent to 22,497 units. For the year ended March, production slid 9.6 percent to 3.57 million, the first drop in 12 years.

Honda has cut production for the past five months as it reduces inventory to match slumping demand. The carmaker’s sales plunged 35 percent in the U.S., the world’s biggest auto market, and 23 percent at home in the first three months of this year.

The company plans to have its vehicle stockpiles reduced to a level that reflects the drop in auto demand by June, it said earlier this week.

Mazda Motor Corp., Japan’s fifth-largest automaker, reported a 55 percent drop in production last month. Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru-brand cars, cut output 39 percent to 34,085 units.

Honda rose 1.7 percent to 2,760 yen at the 11 a.m. trading break in Tokyo.

To contact the reporter on this story: Naoko Fujimura in Tokyo at nfujimura@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 22, 2009 22:36 EDT