CORRECTED - UPDATE 2-Toyota to build Prius in U.S., slash truck output

Corrects date in dateline to July 10.

(Adds comment from dealer, analyst, background on plant costs and capacity, bylines)

By Soyoung Kim and Poornima Gupta

DETROIT, July 10 (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T)(TM.N) said on Thursday it would start building its Prius hybrid in the United States in 2010 and suspend production of slow-selling big trucks for three months in a sharp reversal of strategy forced by slumping sales and high gas prices.

Toyota, which has faced widening shortages of fuel- efficient small cars in recent months, will start building its top-selling hybrid at a new Mississippi plant, originally scheduled to produce the Highlander sport utility vehicle.

The unusual and costly moves by Toyota, now the global auto sales leader, underscored the pressure across the industry as major automakers scuttle truck production and take steps to ramp up output of passenger cars to keep up with a dramatic shift in U.S. buying patterns.

Hit by an industry-wide slump in trucks and SUVs, Toyota posted a 6 percent drop in first-half sales in in the United States, its single-biggest market.

To clear inventory, Toyota said it would suspend production of its Sequoia SUV and redesigned Tundra pickup truck for three months beginning in early August.

At the same time, Toyota said it would work to retool a plant still under construction near Tupelo, Mississippi to build the new Prius, starting in late 2010. All of the Prius models now sold in the United States are built at a dedicated assembly plant in Japan.