Caterpillar Reports Strong Sales

Caterpillar's worldwide dealer machine sales were flat in January from a year ago, but those numbers represented a nice rebound from a 4 percent dropoff in December. In particular, Caterpillar said domestic sales were down 1 percent last month compared with a 3 percent decline in December. Foreign sales carried the banner for the company, climbing 4 percent in Europe, Africa and the Middle East as well as 3 percent in Latin America.

The manufacturer hopes to reduce its inventories by $100 million in 2003, but the dosmetic inventory count climbed 5 percent last month. However, that number only represents 2.9 months of sales, compared to 3 months of sales at this time last year.

After its engine division suffered through a number of poor sales reports in 2002 that combined to represent a 30 percent drop in sales, the market
bounced back with a 12 percent increase in January.

The author is Editor/Publisher of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at bwest@lawnandlandscape.com.