December 03, 2008

Mr Owens says US economy is probably in recession

Mr Jim Owens chairman & CEO of Caterpillar Inc recently said that the US economy is probably in a recession and is unlikely to start recovering until late this year.

According to Mr Owens, fiscal stimulus would help support an economy dogged by mortgage foreclosures, a steep drop off in residential construction and financial market turmoil triggered by the subprime loan crisis.

He said that "The US economy is probably in recession now but will likely have real growth this year of around 0.5% so very very slow growth and probably a couple of quarters of negative growth.”

Mr Owens said that Caterpillar is eager to expand in Asia, where it trails local competitors such as Komatsu Ltd and as a slowdown in the US economy dampens the outlook for construction equipment demand in its home market.