⁍ Caterpillar Inc reported lower third-quarter earnings as equipment sales fell across all three primary segments.

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⁍ The heavy equipment maker has been suffering from business uncertainty caused by the U.S.-China trade standoff and the coronavirus pandemic.

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⁍ Caterpillar Chief Executive Jim Umpleby, however, said the company was witnessing ‘positive signs’ in certain industries and geographies.

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– Caterpillar’s third-quarter profit fell 54% as equipment sales fell across all three primary segments, reports Reuters. The heavy equipment maker, a bellwether for economic activity, has been suffering from business uncertainty caused by the US-China trade standoff and the coronavirus pandemic, with sales of its yellow bulldozers, mining trucks, and other equipment hit by customers delaying capital expenditures. Caterpillar Chief Executive Jim Umpleby, however, said the company was witnessing “positive signs” in certain industries and geographies. Construction machine sales in Asia-Pacific, for example, were up 14% year-on-year in the latest quarter.