Another Curious Inconsistency

I admit I don't spend as much time drilling down into the details of company announcements and earnings releases as I ought to. It's hard enough keeping up with and sifting through government statistics and other big-picture data series. Luckily, there are many websites in my blogroll (and in my feed reader) that have a knack for finding real gems in the torrent of information that floods the newswires each and every day. Today's example includes a post from Karl Denninger's The Market Ticker, entitled "If The Economy Is Recovering.... (CAT)," which reveals another one of those curious inconsistencies I and others keep writing about:

... then how come the wire has this story?

Co reports retail sales of machines declined 20% y/y in Feb and sales of reciprocating & turbine engines to retail users & OEMs declined 33% y/y in Feb

Another source off the wire has even uglier numbers:

 Caterpillar Inc Reports 3 month dealer statistics;
 Dec-Feb sales - filing
 - Retail Sales of Machines: 

    Feb.10 Jan.10 Dec.09 
Asia/Pacific DOWN 2% UP 1%  DOWN 12% 
EAME*   DOWN 22% DOWN 35% DOWN 41% 
Latin America DOWN 20% DOWN 15% DOWN 24% 
ROW*   DOWN 15% DOWN 19% DOWN 28% 
North America DOWN 30% DOWN 40% DOWN 46% 
World   DOWN 20% DOWN 27% DOWN 35% 

Sales of Reciporcating & Turbine Engines 
to Retail Users & OEMS by Business Sector 

    Feb.10 Jan.10 Dec.09 
Electric Power DOWN 26% DOWN 27% DOWN 27% 
Industrial  DOWN 15% DOWN 22% DOWN 44% 
Marine   DOWN 23% DOWN 18% DOWN 29% 
Petroleum  DOWN 47% DOWN 46% DOWN 46% 
Total   DOWN 33% DOWN 33% DOWN 36% 

(Hattips to rebeltraders and aztrader)

I thought last February was pretty much "the depths of Hell" when it comes to the economy and heavy industrial orders?

That's what we've all been told, right?  That the economy bottomed last winter and spring and it's all sunshine and great days ahead, yes?

Well, then how come we're seeing huge decreases from last February's run rate in one of the leading heavy-equipment manufacturers' sales everywhere except Asia, and there we're not seeing gains - just flat sales.

Various forms of fixed investment are coming back, yes?  We don't need anything like big diesel engines or earth-moving machines to actually construct any of that sort of fixed investment, right?

The ToutTV pumpers wouldn't be lying, would they?

(Let's see when this is picked up on CNBC - of course you know the answer, right?  NEVER!)

Comments

[NowWhat]

That company is trouble because no one is building houses and buildings...Mike on a side note can you do a blog on the baby boomers trying to sell off all their houses? I am little worried about that and not having enough productive young men and women getting jobs.