Latin Business Chronicle

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Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Special Reports

Caterpillar: Record Latin Sales

After a record year in Latin America in 2008, Caterpillar is now hoping to benefit from new infrastructure projects.

BOOST: Caterpillar boosted sales of both machines and engines in Latin America last year, but expects a slowdown this year. (Photo: Caterpillar)

BY CHRONICLE STAFF

Despite a challenging fourth quarter, U.S.-based Caterpillar set a new record in sales and revenues in Latin America last year, exceeding the company’s expectations.

”Latin America as a whole continued to not only meet demand for commodities, but also the infrastructure development expanded throughout the region as many countries, like Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Brazil, maintained their internal growth,” says Tom Gales, Caterpillar’s vice president for Latin America.

MACHINE & ENGINE BOOM

Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, boosted Latin America sales by 32 percent last year to $6.0 billion. Of that, machinery accounted for $4.1 billion, a 30 percent increase from 2007. Meanwhile, sales of engines grew by 39 percent to $1.5 billion, while financial products revenues increased 21 percent to $328 million.

Even though Mexico’s economy barely grew last year, Caterpillar registered a sharp increase in machinery sales ...

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Keywords: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Peru

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