Summary
Caterpillar Inc. filed an 8-K on May 13, 2019, to provide supplemental information on retail sales of machines and power systems, which are key indicators of underlying demand in the industries it serves. This data, based on voluntary dealer reports and unaudited, offers a more current view of market activity than Caterpillar's official financial statements, which have a time lag. The report covers rolling three-month periods, providing insights into trends in different geographic regions and industry segments. For the three-month period ended April 2019, overall retail machine sales globally showed a positive trend, up 7%, driven by strong performance in North America and Latin America. The Resource Industries segment showed particularly robust growth globally (up 18%), largely due to significant increases in Latin America and North America. The Construction Industries segment also saw global growth (up 4%), with North America and Latin America being key contributors, though Asia/Pacific experienced a slight decline. The Energy & Transportation segment showed mixed results, with Power Generation sales up significantly, while Oil & Gas and Transportation experienced declines.
Key Highlights
- 1Caterpillar is providing supplemental, unaudited retail sales data for machines and power systems to offer a more timely view of market trends.
- 2Global retail machine sales for the 3-month period ended April 2019 increased by 7% year-over-year.
- 3The Resource Industries segment demonstrated strong global retail sales growth, up 18% for the 3-month period ended April 2019.
- 4North America and Latin America were significant drivers of positive retail machine sales growth across multiple segments.
- 5Asia/Pacific region showed mixed performance for machine retail sales, with Resource Industries up significantly but Construction Industries down slightly.
- 6Energy & Transportation segment saw Power Generation retail sales increase by 16% for the 3-month period ended April 2019, but Oil & Gas and Transportation experienced declines.
- 7The data is based on voluntary dealer reports and is not subject to internal controls, serving as an indicator of trends rather than a substitute for audited financial statements.