By Jenna Baer

May 1, 2025 - Heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar expects import tariffs imposed by the US to be a cost headwind of $250mn-$350mn in the second quarter.

The Texas-based company anticipates its sales to be down slightly compared to the previous year because of tariffs, largely on imports from China.

It anticipates second quarter sales to be flat to the prior year, with growth in its energy and transportation division to be offset by lower machine sales in its resource and construction industries.

Caterpillar's order backlog increased by $7.1bn in the first quarter compared with the prior year and $5bn sequentially, driven by high order rates.

In the construction industries division, Caterpillar's sales fell by 19pc to $5.25bn because of lower volumes and prices. The company's energy and transportation division's sales declined by 2pc to $6.6bn following lower sales volume and higher manufacturing costs.

In North America, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific sales decreased primarily because of lower volumes and prices. Lower sales volume was mainly the result of changes in dealer inventories.

Caterpillar earned a profit of $2.6bn in the first quarter, a decrease of 27pc compared with the year-prior period.