PEORIA, Ill., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) today declared a quarterly cash dividend of forty-two ($0.42) cents per share of common stock, payable February 20, 2010, to stockholders of record at the close of business January 20, 2010.

"The economic crisis of the last year has been unprecedented, but Caterpillar's focus on preparing for a recession, dating back to the strategy we rolled out in 2005, has served us well," said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens.  "We're making tough decisions required to come out of this downturn as a stronger company.  I am pleased we are maintaining our dividend rate and rewarding our stockholders.  Caterpillar has been one of the top companies in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average for total stockholder return (stock appreciation plus dividends) over the last 10 years," Owens added.

The $0.42 dividend maintains the dividend rate from the previous quarter.  Including the announcement today, Caterpillar has paid a cash dividend every year since the company was formed in 1925 and its cash dividend has nearly tripled since 1998.

About Caterpillar:
For more than 80 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making progress possible and driving positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2008 sales and revenues of $51.324 billion, Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The company also is a leading services provider through Caterpillar Financial Services, Caterpillar Remanufacturing Services, Caterpillar Logistics Services and Progress Rail Services. More information is available at http://www.cat.com/.

Safe Harbor
Certain statements in this release relate to future events and expectations and as such constitute forward-looking statements involving known and unknown factors that may cause actual results of Caterpillar Inc. to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. In this context, words such as "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "should" or other similar words and phrases often identify forward-looking statements made on behalf of Caterpillar.  It is important to note that actual results of the company may differ materially from those described or implied in such forward-looking statements based on a number of factors and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, (i) adverse change in general economic conditions; (ii) adverse change in the industries Caterpillar serves including construction, infrastructure, mining, energy, marine and electric power generation; (iii) Caterpillar's ability to manage material, including steel, and freight costs; (iv) Caterpillar's ability to generate cash from operations, secure external funding for its operations and manage its liquidity needs; (v) material adverse change in customers' access to liquidity and capital; (vi) currency exchange or interest rates changes; (vii) political stability; (viii) market acceptance of the company's products and services; (ix) significant changes in the competitive environment; (x) epidemic diseases; (xi) severe change in weather conditions negatively impacting operations; (xii) changes in law, regulations and tax rates; and (xiii) other general economic, business and financing conditions and factors described in more detail in "Item 1A - Risk Factors" in Part II of our Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on October 30, 2009 for the 3rd quarter of 2009.  This filing is available on our website at www.cat.com/sec_filings.  We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.