| **Guarantees**            | 6 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
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| **Guarantees [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| Guarantees                | Guarantees We provide loan guarantees to third-party lenders for financing associated with machinery purchased by customers.  These guarantees have varying terms and are secured by the machinery.  In addition, we participate in standby letters of credit issued to third parties on behalf of our customers.  These standby letters of credit have varying terms and beneficiaries and are secured by customer assets.  We have provided a limited indemnity to a third-party bank resulting from the assignment of certain leases to that bank.  The indemnity is for the possibility that the insurers of these leases would become insolvent.  The indemnity expires December 15, 2012 and is unsecured.No loss has been experienced or is anticipated under any of these guarantees.  At June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the related liability was $2 million.  The maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted and without reduction for any amounts that may possibly be recovered under recourse or collateralized provisions) we could be required to make under the guarantees was as follows:(Millions of dollars) June 30, 2012 December 31, 2011Customer guarantees$158 $159Limited indemnity8 11Total guarantees$166 $170    We provide guarantees to repurchase certain loans of Caterpillar dealers from a special purpose corporation (SPC) that qualifies as a VIE (see Note 1 for additional information regarding the accounting guidance on the consolidation of VIEs).  The purpose of the SPC is to provide short-term working capital loans to Caterpillar dealers.  This SPC issues commercial paper and uses the proceeds to fund its loan program.  We have a loan purchase agreement with the SPC that obligates us to purchase certain loans that are not paid at maturity.  We receive a fee for providing this guarantee, which provides a source of liquidity for the SPC.  We are the primary beneficiary of the SPC as our guarantees result in us having both the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the SPC's economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses, and therefore we have consolidated the financial statements of the SPC.  As of June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the SPC’s assets of $866 million and $586 million, respectively, are primarily comprised of loans to dealers, which are included in Retail notes receivable in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position, and the SPC's liabilities of $866 million and $586 million, respectively, are primarily comprised of commercial paper, which is included in Short-term borrowings in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position.  No loss has been experienced or is anticipated under this loan purchase agreement.  Our assets are not available to pay creditors of the SPC, except to the extent we may be obligated to perform under the guarantee, and assets of the SPC are not available to pay our creditors. |

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| - Definition
The entire disclosure for each guarantee obligation, or each group of similar guarantee obligations, including (a) the nature of the guarantee, including its term, how it arose, and the events or circumstances that would require the guarantor to perform under the guarantee; (b) the maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted) the guarantor could be required to make under the guarantee; (c) the current carrying amount of the liability, if any, for the guarantor's obligations under the guarantee; and (d) the nature of any recourse provisions under the guarantee, and any assets held either as collateral or by third parties, and any relevant related party disclosure. Excludes disclosures about product warranties.
+ References
No definition available.
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