Post by HardTimeTrucker on Apr 23, 2009 15:48:19 GMT -5
Caterpillar Disappointed in Stimulus
Apr 23, 2009
Says U.S. infrastructure spending remains weak, lags far behind China
Construction equipment giant Caterpillar says the scale of the federal economic stimulus package is “disappointing” and will have little impact on construction business this year.
Caterpillar, in a written series of questions and answers issued with the company’s first quarter earnings report, criticized the $787 billion package as slight compared to spending by other countries aimed at giving a jump-start to sagging economies.
Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar lost $112 million in the first three months of this year as sales fell 22 percent, to $9.2 billion.
The company should benefit from the extra money flowing toward states for work on highways and other infrastructure, but Caterpillar said it expects the impact on overall construction spending to be “fairly limited.” About $70 billion in the federal funds will go toward construction this year, it said.
“The infrastructure portion of the stimulus package was disappointing in that it was less aggressive than other countries and missed an opportunity to correct past underinvestment in U.S. infrastructure,” Caterpillar said. “For example, China, with an economy one-third the size of the United States, is allocating over three times as much for infrastructure.” Caterpillar said the first results from China’s stimulus package “look promising.”
Apr 23, 2009
Says U.S. infrastructure spending remains weak, lags far behind China
Construction equipment giant Caterpillar says the scale of the federal economic stimulus package is “disappointing” and will have little impact on construction business this year.
Caterpillar, in a written series of questions and answers issued with the company’s first quarter earnings report, criticized the $787 billion package as slight compared to spending by other countries aimed at giving a jump-start to sagging economies.
Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar lost $112 million in the first three months of this year as sales fell 22 percent, to $9.2 billion.
The company should benefit from the extra money flowing toward states for work on highways and other infrastructure, but Caterpillar said it expects the impact on overall construction spending to be “fairly limited.” About $70 billion in the federal funds will go toward construction this year, it said.
“The infrastructure portion of the stimulus package was disappointing in that it was less aggressive than other countries and missed an opportunity to correct past underinvestment in U.S. infrastructure,” Caterpillar said. “For example, China, with an economy one-third the size of the United States, is allocating over three times as much for infrastructure.” Caterpillar said the first results from China’s stimulus package “look promising.”
