Major U.S. Corporations Inducted into Billion Dollar Roundtable.

NEW YORK -- Yesterday, the Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR) inducted into membership two new corporations, The Procter and Gamble Company and Toyota Motor North America, Inc. The BDR, a top-level forum for corporations that have attained a $1.0 billion or more supply chain diversity spend, is now comprised of 14 corporate members.

Don McKneely and Sharon Patterson, BDR co-founders, presented the awards to the new members. "As a co-founder and host of the Billion Dollar Roundtable, I applaud these two companies for their commitment to support minority firms and communities where they operate," said McKneely.

The combined BDR membership celebrated a 2004 collective purchasing of over $24.0 billion in products and services from minority and women-owned suppliers at the Altria Group, Inc. headquarters in New York City. "We congratulate these companies for convening to celebrate the need to support supply chain diversity excellence," said Patterson.

Additionally, the Billion Dollar Roundtable Impact Award was presented to Dr. Ray Jensen, Director Supplier Diversity Development, Ford Motor Company, for his exceptional achievements in supplier diversity.

The BDR is postured to assist in developing the future agenda for supplier diversity. "Bright minds, forward thinkers....used in an environment that encourages the development of new strategies. We are trying to make sure the management members of corporations have the information they need to be sure the supplier diversity initiative remains a key element in the supply chain process," said Patterson.

The members of the Billion Dollar Roundtable include Altria Group, Inc., AT&T Corporation, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Ford Motor Corporation, General Motors Corporation, IBM Corporation, Johnson Controls, Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Lucent Technologies, The Procter and Gamble Company, SBC Communications Inc., Toyota Motor North America Inc., Verizon Communications, Inc., and Wal-mart Stores, Inc.

About The Procter and Gamble Company:

Two billion times a day, P&G brands touch the lives of people around the world. The company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Pantene(R), Bounty(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Iams(R), Crest(R), Actonel(R), Olay(R), Clairol Nice 'n Easy(R), Head & Shoulders(R), and Wella. The P&G community consists of almost 110,000 employees working in over 80 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

About Toyota Motor North America, Inc.:

Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (TMA), wholly owned by Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM), is the holding company for Toyota's North American sales and manufacturing companies. TMA's direct functions include corporate communications, investor relations, corporate advertising; government and regulatory affairs; market, economic and industry research; corporate planning, diversity and philanthropy activities. Toyota currently employs more than 37,000 people in North America. The company's current investment in North America is $16.6 billion. North American-produced vehicles include the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Sienna, Solara, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, and the Lexus RX 330. By 2006 Toyota's manufacturing operations will have the capacity to build 1.66 million vehicles and 1.44 million engines annually in North America.

About the Billion Dollar Roundtable:

In 2001, the Billion Dollar Roundtable was created to recognize and celebrate corporations that achieved spending of at least $1.0 billion with minority and women-owned suppliers. The BDR promotes and shares best practices in supply chain diversity excellence through the production of White papers. In discussions, the members review common issues, opportunities and strategies. The BDR encourages corporate entities to continue growing their supplier diversity programs by increasing commitment and spending levels every year. The BDR is a think tank and every other year the organization inducts new members. For more information on the BDR, please email [e-mail].