Terex Corporation chief executive Ron DeFeo has blamed the softness of the North American construction equipment market, in part, on the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington.

‘We are operating in a challenging economic environment, which was compounded by the impact of the events of September 11th,’ he said.

‘Visibility is difficult for many of our businesses at this time. We expect continued soft activity in the North American construction markets during the fourth quarter of 2001 as customers defer purchases as a result of the economic uncertainty and the events of September 11th.’

DeFeo’s comments came as Terex reported a decline in net sales for the third quarter of 2001, down to $453.7m from last year’s Q3 sales of $475.1m. Terex’s lifting businesses saw double-digit declines in both Europe and North America.