Caterpillar to stop supplying engines to truck makers from 2010

The fallout from Caterpillar’s decision to stop supplying engines to truck makers from 2010 is still rumbling through the local industry as truck makers try to work out how the decision will affect them. While Caterpillar has said that it would stop supplying truck makers with US EPA 2010-spec engines from 2010, it has not yet announced its plans for Australia in that time frame. While that might allay any local industry fears that Caterpillar would pull its engines out of the Australian market immediately, it doesn’t explain the company’s plans after 2010. Kenworth is the largest user of Caterpillar engines in Australia, offering the 13-liter C13 ACERT and 15-litre C15 ACERT engines in its trucks along with Cummins engines. We’ll continue to offer Caterpillar engines for 2008 and 2009 and discussions are continuing for 2010,” was all Kenworths Managing Director Joe Rizzo could say when asked about his company’s situation post-2010. Freightliner and Sterling are also large users of Caterpillar engines locally, having released the C13 ACERT and C15 ACERT engines alongside their own Detroit Diesel and Mercedes-Benz engines in their 2008 model ranges. (July 5, 2008)