Sales decline for Caterpillar

Caterpillar has reported sales for its construction segment of US$5.28 billion in the third quarter of 2019, a decline of 7% compared to sales in the same quarter in 2018.

This decline of approximately US$394 million was attributed by Caterpillar to lower sales volumes driven by the unfavourable impact from changes in dealer inventories.

Despite this fall in sales, there were some regions around the world which saw an increase in sales from the third quarter of 2018 to the third quarter of 2019. North America saw an increase of 3% and Latin America 12%, although this is not surprising given the low level of sales for this region previously.

Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) saw a decline in sales of 6% and the Asia Pacific region saw a drop of 29%. The fall in sales in the Asia Pacific region was said to be mainly due to lower demand in China, including unfavourable changes in dealer inventories amid continued competitive pressures.

Construction Industries’ profit was US$940 million in the third quarter of 2019, a decrease of US$118 million, or 11%, compared with US$1.058 billion in the third quarter of 2018. 

The mining and quarrying segment (resource industries) also saw a decline in sales from the third quarter of 2018 to 2019, with this segment seeing sales fall 12%. Caterpillar attributed this to dealers decreasing inventories and general economic uncertainty.

All regions saw a decline in sales, with North America down 7%, Latin America 18%, EAME 31% and Asia Pacific 6%.