Caterpillar dealers cut their inventories by $900 million in 4Q, accounting for much of the sales decline in construction and mining equipment during the quarter. The decrease in inventories follows a $700 million increase in 3Q inventories. Caterpillar says it does not expect a “significant change” in dealer inventories in 2024. Dealers stocked more equipment in recent years because supply-chain problems created long lead times for filling orders. As the company’s factory output improves, dealers are finding they can get equipment faster and need to hold less equipment, CEO Jim Umpleby tells analysts.