Despite strong second quarter demand for truck and bus engines, a drop in sales of electric power generation products kept Caterpillar’s North American engine sales at about $746 million
compared to $922 million in second quarter 2001.
Worldwide engine sales totaled $1.67 billion, down $46 million from a year ago. The company said higher sales in Asia/Pacific and Latin America, and flat sales in Europe and the Middle East, were not enough to offset lower sales in North America.
Caterpillar’s second quarter earnings press release made no mention of October pre-buying, attributing a sharp increase in demand for on-highway engines to a ramp-up of truck production due to “robust truck orders from large companies.” The company also noted that it expects the financial impact “resulting from volatility in the truck engine market to be minimal for the year.”
Caterpillar’s first engines with ACERT technology, designed to meet Oct. 1, 2002 emissions standard, are due to start shipping in early 2003. From Oct. 1 until ACERT production begins, Caterpillar will offer an EPA-certified lower-emission version of its current engines that does not meet the October standards.
The company posted a second quarter profit, for all products, of $200 million on sales and revenues of $5.29 billion, compared to a $271 million profit on sales and revenues of $5.49 billion in the same period a year ago. Worldwide machinery sales totaled $3.25 billion versus $3.42 billion for second quarter 2001. Revenues from financial products were $419 million, up 3% from a year ago.
“While overall economic indicators have been positive, the anticipated recovery in capital spending has yet to materialize,” said Chairman and CEO Glen Barton. “Nevertheless, the broad diversity of our products and services enabled us to remain solidly profitable despite uneven recoveries and very weak market conditions in many of the industries we serve.”