CORRECT: Caterpillar: Global Dealer Sales Down 39% In 3 Months To April
21 May 2009 - 5:03AM
Dow Jones News
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) said Wednesday that global machinery
sales through retailers continued to weaken, down 39% in the three
months to end April compared with year-ago data. North American
sales slid 51% fall from a year ago in the three-month rolling
average of sales compared to 41% in the period to March 31.
The trend in Asia Pacific was flat, down 21%, while sales to
Europe, Middle East and Africa slipped 47% compared with a 44% fall
in the prior period.
Global machinery sales, including its Cat Japan joint venture,
were off 39% in the quarter to April 30 compared with 34% in the
period to March 31 and 28% in the three months to end-February.
Sales of engines to dealers and manufacturers were down 9% in
the April quarter, compared with a 2$ decline in the period to
March 31. Truck and bus engines suffered the sharpest fall, down
69%, but the positive trend in sales to the marine and oil and gas
sectors intensified in the period to April 30.
Caterpillar shares were recently up 2.8% at $38.73.
Sales growth in Asia-Pacific, up 16% in the October period,
slowed to just 5% in the November timeframe. Latin American sales
growth declined to 18% from 35% a month earlier. North America was
the only region to report a sequential improvement, with a decline
of 11% compared with a 12% drop the previous month. Caterpillar
shares recently fell 45 cents, or 1%, to $44.19. Caterpillar Inc.
(CAT
-By Doug Cameron, Dow Jones Newswires; 312-750-4135;
doug.cameron@dowjones.com