Caterpillar: China sales will remain strong

Source: Exec Digital USA

Date :8/28/2008 1:55:52 AM

Caterpillar Inc Chairman Jim Owens expects weakness in rich-country economies to persist into 2009 but believes its sales in China will remain strong.

In fact, sales are so strong that the US construction and mining equipment firm is actually struggling to meet a backlog of Chinese orders.

“Pretty much our manufacturing operations here and in Asia to support the China market have been running at capacity,” Owens, also Chief Executive of Caterpillar, told reporters gathered in Beijing this morning, August 28.

The company expects sales in China to double to US$4 billion by 2010 from around US$2 billion this year.

“I fully expect that our sales growth in china will continue at a very high level for many years to come,” he added.

Caterpillar raised its full-year earnings guidance in July as strong growth in emerging countries offset the impact of rising commodity prices and weakness in economies in North America, Western Europe and Japan.

Owens said he did not expect the US housing market to pick up substantially until 2010.