The announcement was based on the current business climate in this market segment.
Cat’s on-highway vocational trucks were only launched during 2011. Cat indicated that based on the current business climate in the truck industry and a thorough evaluation of the business, the company decided it would withdraw from this market. Cat will not take new orders for vocational trucks, although they state that they will remain committed to existing truck customers and will continue to support the existing trucks currently in operation. Cat launched its first vocational truck into the North American market in 2011, where they worked with Navistar on the products’ design and build. In 2015, Cat declared its intention to begin independently designing and manufacturing its vocational truck products at the Caterpillar plant in Victoria, Texas.
Cat believes that in order to be a viable competitor in this market, significant additional investments would have been required to develop and launch a complete portfolio of trucks. When Cat reviewed the current business and economic situation, it was determined that there was not a sufficiently large market opportunity to justify the investment. Because Cat had not yet started truck production in Victoria, it allowed them to exit this business before this occurred. Cat has announced that this will impact approximately 70 employees. The reductions will begin in March and will take place over a period of time. Source: http://www.caterpillar.com/en/news/corporate-press-releases/h/caterpillar-to-end-production-of-on-highway-vocational-trucks.html