Combines May not mean nothing butIJ

The deal was done a long time back. In fact GM lent a large sum to Fiat either last year or the year before. There was a further option afforded to GM that if the Fiat management could not produce set results then GM could buy the remainder of the shares from the Fiat famaily at a cut stock price below trading value. So far as I understand the option has already expired. That was one of themain resons that Fiat was pulling large amounts of moneys from all subsidiary companies as wel as commanding slashed budgets. This is what affected parts stocking by NH. CNH's largest problem is still the absorbtion of CaseIH's cost structure. No I don't expect GM to come in and save CNH but I do expect major pressure from GM on the Fiat board to bring about profitable buisiness practices. I do not expect GM to jump and run after already investing large amounts of money in Fiat. As of yet I have never read anything saying that CNH has borrowed money from outside finacial institutions. All money borrowed has been from inside the companies. Compare that to CaseIH which had approx 4.5 billion in assets and 2.5 billion in outside debt. Yet no one ever claimed CaseIH was going under so why all the "sky is falling" rumors on the internet about CNHIJ Did CaseIH just keep their debt a better secret from the farmer_consumerIJ

What condition you think a company is in depends on what numbers you look at. For instance for CNH global: FY 2003 annual operating revenue 10.666 billion 5 year average revenue growth +13.28% FY 2003 profit or loss before depreciation -218 million FY 2003 net income -157 million First Call projected growth for corprate earnings per share, 5 year prediction: positive 8% Some would say things are looking up for the CNH part of the Fiat group companies.

JHEnt(or anyone elseIJ) is there someplace on the net or anywhere for that matter that shows how many units each mfg sold per yearIJ I can find that for cars and big trucks, but farm equipment is very hard to find the current numbers. Seems like some act like they know the numbers but never say where they get them from. ps How many CR's has your dealership sold yetIJ Thanks, Ilnewholland

Caterpillar took over CNH parts department about three months ago. From manufacturing, warehousing and distribution Cat has full responsibility for that segment of CNH. I think we should all be able to see the writing on the wall..........

No and you will find actual units sold is very very hard to come by. I fyou search the equipment manufactures assoc web site you can find the total number sold for US and Canada of all brands combined. It is rare for even the assoc published mag to list by manufacturer. It seems to be a secret that all full line companies try to keep anyone from knowing. As of march 2004 648 combines were sold in the US and all companies together have 1296 units sitting on dealer lots. www.aem.org 1 CR940 sold. They have a CR960 ordered but I think its build date is sometime in August.

Before CNH, CaseIH parts was handled by GATX logistics.Its a money game! Cheaper to hire outside companies who can pay minimum wage and no benifits! Wake up people ! Always crying "the end is near".