Honeywell International
Honeywell, an industrials conglomerate with business lines in aerospace, chemicals, and manufacturing, has significant operations and sales in China.
Despite reporting a backlog and increase in orders in China for its Universal Oil Products business in the second quarter, Gregory Peter Lewis, the senior vice president and chief financial officer of Honeywell, still counted slowing growth in the country as a major concern in the economic backdrop.
"We are taking the cautious view on the short-cycle growth as many of the macro signals, the China GDP, US-China trade tensions and Brexit, just to name a few, are still clouding the economic outlook," Lewis said. "We think it's prudent to plan conservatively given the uncertainties."
Dow Inc.
Last week, Dow posted second-quarter revenue of $11 billion, representing a 14% drop from the same period last year. The company said it expects to see trade and geopolitical uncertainties affect the buying patterns of its customers.
"The macro environment is cautious largely driven by geopolitical volatility and prolonged trade negotiations which continue today," James Fitterling, the chief executive officer of Dow Inc. said during an earnings call. "We still see the global economy expanding, but the pace of growth is slower particularly in Europe and in China."
3M
3M, which manufacturers and supplies products for a wide variety of industries, saw its growth in China fall by 0.80% in the second quarter. Growing sales in 3M's health care, transportation, and electronics segments were offset by declines in demand for industrial, safety, and consumer products.
"For the year, we now expect organic growth in China to be down low to mid-single digits versus a prior expectation of flat as we continue to experience challenging end market conditions, particularly in the electronics and automotive industries," Nicholas C. Gangestad, the senior vice president and chief financial officer said.
Caterpillar
Caterpillar's second-quarter earnings signaled slowing growth in China amid the trade war as consolidated sales and revenue fell 7% in the Asia Pacific region from the same period last year. The company also saw manufacturing costs increase $328 million, with tariffs accounting for $70 million of the additional expenses.
"We expect continued pressure from competitive pricing in China, partly offset by growth in other areas in Asia Pacific," D. James Umpleby, the chief executive officer said during the company's earnings call.
