Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT) reported its first quarterly net loss in 16 years, underscoring the severity of the worldwide economic slowdown.

The maker of bulldozers and excavators reported a loss of $112 million, or $0.19 a share, compared with a profit of $922 million, or $1.45 a share, for the same period a year ago. Sales fell 22% to $9.23 billion.

For the year, analysts expected Caterpillar to earn $1.77 a share. The company now says it expects to earn about $1.25 a share for the year, or half what the company forecast in January.

Revenue could slip to about $35 billion from $38.4 billion.

Caterpillar’s competitors include CNH Global (CNH) of the Netherlands, Komatsu (KMTUY) of Japan and Volvo (VOLVY) of Sweden.

Caterpillar has cut 10,000 full-time employees and slashed 15,000 temporary and contract workers since December, including about 5,000 management and support workers.

The company confronts reduced demand from builders and mining companies. Housing starts fell to a 510,000 annual rate in March as US homebuilders cut back amid the credit crunch and rising foreclosures. Home construction peaked at an annual rate of 2.27 million in January 2006.

In an October 2007 earnings report, Owens said the US economy would be “near to, or even in, recession, in 2008." The recession began that December.

There have been encouraging signs in the banking sector, but heavy equipment says there will be no immediate economic turnaround.