Harley-Davidson Trims Production

Harley-Davidson Inc. says it will ship about 85,000 motorcycles in April-June 6,000 fewer than originally planned to help reduce dealer inventories.

The company's sales have softened as competitors hike discounts to as much as $3,000 per bike. The Milwaukee-based company now expects full-year sales growth of 2%-4% compared with its original 4%-6% forecast.

Harley-Davidson announced the production cutback while reporting its first-quarter sales slipped 1% to 56,700 units. Net income rose 2% to $270 million, even though revenue for the period declined 3% to $1.7 billion.