Perhaps it's no surprise that Caterpillar Inc. is emerging as a touchstone for the ups, downs and farther downs of the current U.S. economy, but the emerging revelation is that Caterpillar is providing a glimpse into reasons why China's government stimulus plan is moving faster than the one in the U.S.
"In China, 'shovel ready' means shovel ready," James Owens, Caterpillar's chief executive, said while reflecting on Caterpillar's huge China business as he chatted with reporters at a recent Chicago Council on Global Affairs breakfast. In the U.S., he added, most shovel-ready projects likely will not start construction until 2010.
Owens is seeing the effect on his business. Take excavators -- lumbering machinery that nevertheless is a tiny part of Caterpillar's nearly $50 billion in sales. Caterpillar was selling 600 units per month in China before September. Then sales collapsed to anywhere from zero to five a month.
Sales picked up in February, as the Chinese stimulus spigot opened, and excavators again are selling at a record pace, Owens said. |
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