By Shawn Langlois

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings shares dropped more than 22% on Friday after the auto-parts maker reported a ballooning fourth-quarter loss as its top automaker customers have slashed production.

"The U.S. automotive industry has been pushed to the verge of collapse due to numerous adverse market, economic and competitive forces," Chairman and CEO Richard Dauch said in a statement.

"As a result, 2008 proved to be a brutally difficult and demanding year for the entire domestic automotive industry," he said.

American Axle's stock (AXL) was down 32 cents to $1.08 and is now down 95% over the past year.

The Detroit-based company reported a loss of $112.1 million, or $2.17 a share, compared with a loss of $26.8 million, or 52 cents a share, in the year-ago period. American Axle said the latest quarter's results included a tax expense provision of $69.5 million.

The company said that excluding all one-time items, the loss would have come to $1.25 a share.

Net sales dropped to $503 million from $755.2 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for a loss, on average, of 65 cents a share with sales of $525.2 million.

For the full year, the company lost $1.2 billion.

American Axle has been hurt by its reliance on General Motors Corp. (GM), which accounts for more than three-quarters of AAM's total revenue and has struggled for survival during the brutal industry downturn. Chrysler LLC, also being kept alive by taxpayer loans, is another top customer with its Dodge Ram line of pickups.

Production of full-size truck and SUV programs at both automakers dropped about 71% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier and the outlook for 2009 remains grim.

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