Navistar International Corp. (NAV) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)
said Thursday they have completed their global trucking joint
venture, NC2 Global LLC.
But the companies pushed back the date for full production on
its collaboration building Caterpillar-brand construction trucks
for North America by several months to mid-2011.
Navistar shares were recently down 7.6% at $42.23 premarket as
the company late Wednesday reported a quarterly loss and cut
expectations again amid continued weak demand. Caterpillar dipped
20 cents to $48.21.
As they said in April, the joint venture will focus on
Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, South Africa and Turkey. In those
locales the effort will sell aero nose and cab-over designs under
both the Caterpillar and International brands.
Caterpillar executive Doug Oberhelman will serve as NC2's
chairman. Al Saltiel, who has headed Navistar's marketing for five
years, will be the venture's president, and Bob Iacullo, formerly a
manager in Caterpillar product development, will be its financial
chief.
Heavy-duty vehicles such as buses and big trucks have seen a
sales slump, although military orders have offset some of the slack
for companies such as Navistar.
In July, Caterpillar reported that its second-quarter profit
fell 66%. Chief Executive Jim Owens said then he believes the
company will benefit from an eventual economic recovery - he just
doesn't know when that is.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com