Cat to exit on-highway truck business

PEORIA, Ill. — Caterpillar announced today it is discontinuing production of its on-highway vocational trucks.

It cited the current business climate in the truck industry and a thorough evaluation of its own business as its reasons for withdrawing from the market.

It will no longer take orders for vocational trucks, though the company says it will continue to support existing truck customers and vehicles that are currently on the road.

Cat entered the truck market in 2011 through a partnership with Navistar. That partnership came to an end last year and Navistar earlier this month released its new HX Series vocational truck, which it acknowledged was inspired by its partnership with Cat.

Caterpillar was slated to bring production of its trucks in-house at its Victoria, Texas production facility.

“Remaining a viable competitor in this market would require significant additional investment to develop and launch a complete portfolio of trucks, and upon an updated review, we determined there was not a sufficient market opportunity to justify the investment,” said Ramin Younessi, vice-president with responsibility for Caterpillar’s Industrial Power Systems Division. “We have not yet started truck production in Victoria, and this decision allows us to exit this business before the transition occurs.”

About 70 jobs will be affected as a result of the move.
Cat CT680 grey

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James Menzies is editor of Today's Trucking. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 20 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


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  • Not sure why they make a really good heavy haul truck I think the cat engine was great till EPA got their nose into to our truck engine the Cummings engine is a joke unless you go unhook all the DEF crap my cat truck does great for heavy haul gess that’s out now

  • five years overdue! Cat did not have the correct folks in place to make the on-highway truck successful. Having worked for a CAT dealer for 31 years, it was clear they hadn’t done their homework.

    • You are correct, and, after exiting the on-highway engine business only months previously, announce plan to build CAT-branded construction truck in agreement with a financially challenged partner! Crazy !!!
      Retired after 40+years of HD truck and CAT engine sales

  • Yes, was a nice truck. Only problem is it (and International) need a REAL Cat engine again.

    But again I don’t blame Cat for exiting the on-road engine market.
    Would have been sad to see them also bow to the EPA lunatics and build an unreliable piece of junk like every other engine is now.

  • It would of have been better if they would of built there own truck and bring back the cat truck engine instead of partnering with navastar, I work for a cat dealer and that’s just my opinion and chatter from customers.