Caterpillar Dealer Sales Fell in October

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) reported Wednesday global sales of machinery by its dealers in October were down 12% from a year earlier, while sales of power systems, mainly engines, fell 9%.

Both measures deteriorated from September, when dealer sales of machinery declined 9% and power systems were down 2%. Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar, the world's largest maker of construction and mining machinery, has been suffering from a sharp drop in orders from mining companies and sluggish demand for equipment used for such things as commercial building and road construction.

As a result, Caterpillar has recently closed some of its smaller mining-equipment plants and laid off thousands of workers and managers. Chief Executive Doug Oberhelman last month said Caterpillar was on a "cost-lockdown binge" to sustain profitability amid weaker demand.

Machinery sales fell 26% in the Asia-Pacific region, 14% in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, 8% in Latin America and 2% in North America. Power systems sales dropped 27% in the transportation category and 21% in electric power but climbed 16% in industrial. Power systems for the petroleum industry were unchanged from a year earlier.

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