PEORIA, Ill. (Aug. 18, 2003) — Heavy equipment builder Caterpillar Inc. says it will probably incur $37 million in fines this year because some of its big engines don’t meet Environmental Protection Agency emission standards.

The information was included in a report filed last week the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last year, Caterpillar incurred $17 million in expenses related to emission standards.

Last October, the Peoria, Ill.-based engine maker reached a consent decree with the EPA that allows it to continue selling engines that don’t meet emission standards if it pays penalties.

Caterpillar said the fines are a temporary measure until the company can begin producing fully compliant engines with its patented ACERT technology later this year. The company expects to have to pay a penalty of about $2,500 per engine on about 3,300 of the roughly 33,800 non-conforming medium heavy-duty engines that it expects to produce in 2003, according to the Associated Press.

–Truckinginfo.com