Cat’s Machine Sales

Continue To Decline

Caterpillar Inc. said their global machinery sales tumbled 48% in August, the eleventh-consecutive month of declines, as the weak global economy battered demand for its bulldozers, mining trucks and other equipment, the Associated Press reports. The August retail sales drop was led by North America, where sales plummeted 57% compared with the same month a year earlier.

Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, has faced slumping demand for its products since the global economy deteriorated late last year. It has responded by laying off thousands of workers and scaling back production.

The company’s sales in Europe, Africa and the Middle East sank 50% in August. Sales dropped 37% in Latin America, compared with 28% in July, 33% in the Asia-Pacific region and 42% in the world outside North America. Meanwhile, the company said it plans to raise prices by 2% on most of its machinery next year