Recent data have shown the U.S. economy is stumbling. Retail sales were unchanged in August, the economy generated no jobs and hourly earnings fell.
Lowe's, the second-largest home-improvement retailer, has been negotiating with vendors to minimize costs while passing some increases onto consumers.
"Our approach is to negotiate as hard as we can to the lowest cost possible," Robert Gfeller, executive vice president for merchandising at Lowe's, said in a teleconference Sept. 7. "Where we have taken (increased) pricing, we have moved some through to retail."
Toyota Motor Corp. is among carmakers offering lower prices after inventories recovered following Japan's earthquake. The Toyota City, Japan-based automaker is starting a blitz of U.S. model releases, some of them with cheaper price tags, to regain sales lost to rivals such as Hyundai Motor Co. after three years that included recession, recalls and the earthquake.
Toyota last month unveiled the 2012 Camry in Hollywood, California, with price reductions ranging from $200 to $2,000 on the top-end, four-cylinder Camry, Bob Carter, group vice president of U.S. sales, said in an interview.