What is the primary purpose of this 8-K filing?

The primary purpose of this 8-K filing is to provide supplemental, unaudited information on Caterpillar's retail sales of machines and power systems. This is intended to give investors a better indication of business and industry trends, particularly given the time lag between sales to Caterpillar's dealers and the dealers' sales to end-users.

What is the scope of the retail sales data provided?

The filing provides retail sales data for machines broken down by geographic region for the Resource Industries and Construction Industries segments, and for the total machine market. For the Energy & Transportation segment, retail sales are provided by major end-use industry. The data covers rolling three-month periods ending in September, October, and November 2017, comparing them to the same periods in the prior year.

How reliable is the retail sales data presented?

Caterpillar states that the data is primarily based on unaudited reports voluntarily provided by its independent dealers and is not subject to the company's internal controls over financial reporting. Therefore, the data may not be accurate or complete and is intended solely to convey an approximate indication of trends, direction, and magnitude, not as a substitute for Caterpillar's audited financial statements.

Which regions and industries showed the strongest retail sales growth?

For total machines, Asia/Pacific (up 43%), EAME (up 32%), and Latin America (up 48%) showed strong growth for the three-month period ended November 2017. In the Resource Industries, EAME (up 86%) and Latin America (up 68%) were particularly strong. For Construction Industries, Asia/Pacific (up 52%) and Latin America (up 40%) showed significant increases. In Energy & Transportation, the Industrial (up 30%) and Transportation (up 35%) sectors experienced robust growth.

CAT 8-K: Regulation FD — Dec 13, 2017

Summary

This 8-K filing from Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) on December 13, 2017, provides supplemental information on retail sales of machines and power systems to end users and OEMs. The company is furnishing this data to offer a clearer understanding of business trends, particularly given the lag between Caterpillar's sales to its dealers and dealers' sales to end users. The disclosed figures are based on unaudited reports from independent dealers and are intended to indicate approximate trends rather than serve as a substitute for audited financial statements. The data highlights strong year-over-year growth in retail sales across most segments and geographic regions for the rolling three-month periods ending in November 2017. Notably, total machine retail sales globally saw a significant increase of 26% for the period ending November 2017. Resource Industries and Construction Industries also demonstrated robust growth, driven by strong performance in Asia/Pacific and Latin America, while Energy & Transportation showed a more mixed, though generally positive, trend.

Key Highlights

1Caterpillar is providing supplemental data on retail sales of machines and power systems to enhance investor understanding of business trends.
2The provided data is based on unaudited dealer reports and is intended to show approximate trends, not replace audited financial statements.
3Global retail sales of total machines showed a significant increase of 26% for the three-month period ended November 2017 compared to the prior year.
4Resource Industries segment retail sales saw substantial growth, with a 35% increase globally for the period ended November 2017, largely driven by EAME (up 86%) and Latin America (up 68%).
5Construction Industries segment retail sales also posted strong gains, with a 25% global increase for the period ended November 2017, with notable strength in Asia/Pacific (up 52%) and Latin America (up 40%).
6Energy & Transportation segment retail sales showed a positive overall trend with a 23% global increase for the period ended November 2017, led by strong performance in Industrial (up 30%) and Transportation (up 35%) sectors.

CATERPILLAR INC 8-K Report, Regulation FD Disclosure (Dec 13, 2017)

Summary

Key Highlights

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