Caterpillar announced that it plans to shut down part of its truck-making facility in Decatur during the last five weeks of the calendar year. The company said that worker layoffs would be "temporary" and that, "Economic growth and demand from customers around the world has not reached expected levels."

Peoria-based Caterpillar actually turned a record profit in the second-quarter of this year, a point highlighted when machinists at its Joliet plant went on strike this summer.