Caterpillar CEO sees long-term demand for minerals

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chief executive of Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), the world's largest maker of earth moving equipment, says he is convinced that the long-term demand for minerals will grow.

"It's going to grow substantially because China, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, all these emerging countries can't grow without minerals," Caterpillar Chief Executive James Owens told reporters on the sidelines of a CEO conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.

The company, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI and a U.S. business bellwether, makes construction and mining equipment such as large bulldozers and mining trucks -- machinery crucial to the resources industry.

However, the financial crisis and sharp fall in metals prices has forced several companies to abandon or put on hold their plans to bring new mines on stream. As well, some existing producers have shut down or curtailed output at mines and plants.

Despite the downturn, Owens said Caterpillar is comfortable with its 2008 outlook for profits of about $6 a share and revenues and sales of about $50 billion. Owens said the company's outlook for next year was obviously being formed as it "looks at all the traumas going on in the global financial markets."

"We will adjust our capital plans and our employment plans based on the business opportunities that are out there," Owens said on the sidelines of the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council meeting. "We certainly are looking at and thoughtfully considering what the global mining industry is going to do with their investments next year."

Owens said "right now we have a strong order backlog" from the mining industry. But also said it remains to be seen how much the slowing growth and drop in commodity prices will impact Caterpillar.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai, additional reporting by James Kelleher in Chicago; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)