BUSINESS BRIEFS.(A)

TRANSPORTATION

Ford slashes Q2 production goal

After the close, the automaker said it'll make 980,000 vehicles, down 17% from Q2 '02. Industry sales in Feb. were weak due to war and terror fear, a poor economy and winter storms -- and March doesn't look good either. Analysts expected Ford to cut Q2 output, but not so much. GM said in early March it'll cut output by 10.5%.

Air traffic growth slowed in Jan.

Year-over-year worldwide growth slowed to 11% in Jan. and from 13% in Dec., the Int'l Air Transport Association said. North America was weakest, with passenger growth of 6.4%. European traffic rose 11.6%, Asia 13.3% and the Mideast 24.8%. …