Toyota Motor Corp. yesterday reported a 34 percent increase in its fiscal second-quarter profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast to more than $13 billion, numbers that stand in stark contrast to the declining fortunes of automakers in Detroit.

The Japanese carmaker said it earned $3.44 billion worldwide in the three months ended Sept. 30, fueled by strong sales of more fuel-efficient compact cars in Europe and the United States during a period of high gasoline prices. Revenue rose 17 percent, to about $50 billion.

Detroit's companies have been bleeding cash as sales of large sport-utility vehicles have slowed. The major U.S. automakers last month issued quarterly reports that reflected their struggles to overhaul operations by cutting billions in overhead costs.

Ford Motor Co. said it lost $5.8 billion, its biggest quarterly loss in 14 years, while DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division lost $1.48 billion. General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, revised its third-quarter loss yesterday to $91 million, from the $115 million loss reported on Oct. 25, because the initial report didn't include loan sales at its finance unit.

Toyota also announced yesterday that it would acquire a 5.9 percent stake in Japanese truckmaker Isuzu Motors Ltd. from two investment companies. In April, GM sold its 7.9 percent stake in Isuzu to help raise cash for restructuring. Toyota and Isuzu said they plan to collaborate on engine technologies.

"I think Toyota is raising the bar for everybody," said Jim Sanfilippo, senior industry analyst at AMCI, a consulting firm in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. "That doesn't mean that they automatically stay on top. It's one thing to get there. It's another thing to stay there."

Toyota's results came as new signs emerged that tough market conditions in the United States might be spreading to automakers outside Detroit. Toyota reported that in the latest six-month period, its operating income in North America dropped 7 percent, to about $2.2 billion.

However, Toyota -- the world's second-largest automaker -- continues to outclass Detroit rivals in terms of profitability. Yesterday, in addition to raising its earnings projection through March, the end of its fiscal year, to more than $13 billion, Toyota boosted revenue and vehicle volume projections.

For the six months ended Sept. 30, Toyota said, its worldwide profit rose 36 percent, to $6.7 billion. The company said favorable currency rates between the dollar and the yen accounted for an unexpected $1.6 billion gain.

Currency issues have been a sore spot for U.S. automakers, who claim that the Japanese government is maintaining the yen at an artificially low level to give its manufacturers an edge. Industry leaders in Detroit, particularly GM Chairman G. Richard Wagoner Jr., have complained about inaction on the part of the administration on this issue.

On Wednesday, economists from the Detroit automakers are scheduled to meet with Timothy D. Adams, Treasury undersecretary of international affairs; Japanese currency issues are expected to be the top item on the agenda. The issue is also expected to come up when the chief executives of the Detroit automakers and President Bush meet at the White House on Nov. 14.

"Clearly, when another government is intervening in currency markets, we want our government to make a very strong statement that that's inappropriate behavior," said Mustafa Mohatarem, GM's chief economist.

Mohatarem said Japan had been breaking a basic understanding among developed countries that currency exchange rates are to be determined in the market. He said that over the past decade, the Japanese government had consistently intervened, buying dollars and selling yen, causing dollars to appreciate relative to the yen.

He said profits from the yen's weakness were allowing Japanese automakers to plough money into research and development and invest in new plants, some of which are being built in the United States.

Mohatarem said the yen should be trading from 90 to 100 per dollar. At its current trading rate of about 118, he said, Toyota gets a $3,000 advantage on small cars and $9,000 on Lexus luxury cars.

Japanese automakers have repeatedly said allegations of currency manipulation by the Japanese government are overblown. A Toyota spokesman said the company was seeking to minimize exposure to currency swings by building plants in North America.