Caterpillar's Sales Keep Falling

Caterpillar's sales keep falling.

The heavy machine maker just released its latest 3-month rolling retail sales stats, which showed that sales, particularly in its Asia/Pacific segment, keep falling.

Worldwide, total machine retail sales were down 12% in May, 10% in June, and 9% in July when compared to the prior year period. These declines compare to year-on-year declines of 8%, 12%, and 13% in February, March, and April.

In its Asia/Pacific segment, total machine sales were down 30%, 30%, and 29% for the months of May, June, and July, respectively.

Caterpillar is typically seen a bellwether for the world economy, and particularly growth in China, and noted short seller Jim Chanos - a long-time China bear - in May said he remained short shares of the industrial giant.

This table from Caterpillar shows the breakdown of its retail machine sales.