Summary
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) has filed an 8-K report on January 26, 2009, providing supplemental data on dealer statistics for its Machinery and Engines segments for the three-month rolling period ending December 2008. This report, based on unaudited dealer reports and presented in constant dollars, aims to offer investors insight into the company's business by showing end-user demand trends, which can lag Caterpillar's direct sales to dealers. The data reveals a challenging sales environment, with significant year-over-year declines in retail sales of machinery across most major regions, particularly North America and EAME, indicating a broad economic slowdown impacting the construction and mining sectors. However, the Engines segment showed mixed results, with a strong performance in Marine and Petroleum, partially offset by a substantial decline in Truck & Bus sales.
Key Highlights
- 1Retail sales of Caterpillar machinery experienced a global decline of 15% for the three months ending December 2008, compared to the prior year.
- 2North America and EAME (Europe, Africa, Middle East) regions showed particularly sharp year-over-year declines in machinery sales, down 21% and 20% respectively in December 2008.
- 3Asia/Pacific machinery sales also trended downwards, declining by 13% in December 2008 after positive growth in prior months.
- 4Latin America was the only region to show positive growth in machinery sales, up 11% for the three-month period ending December 2008.
- 5The Engines segment, however, reported a 6% increase in total retail sales for the period, driven by strong performance in Marine (up 35%) and Petroleum (up 13%).
- 6Sales of Truck & Bus engines experienced a significant downturn, decreasing by 30% in December 2008.
- 7The information provided is based on unaudited reports from independent dealers and is presented in constant dollars, not subject to Caterpillar's internal financial controls.