Caterpillar (CAT) churned out another record quarter Friday despite a continuing slowdown in the domestic economy. The Peoria, Ill., tractor company made $922 million, or $1.45 a share, from the year-ago $816 million, or $1.23 a share. Revenue rose to $11.8 billion from $10 billion a year earlier. Analysts were looking for a $1.33-a-share profit on revenue of $10.8 billion. The latest quarter’s results were bolstered by recent price increases and the effects of the weak dollar in making the company’s products cheaper for overseas buyers. Sales and revenues outside North America rose to 58% of the quarterly total, up from 53% a year ago.

The company maintained its 2008 forecasts, saying it expects foreign customers to continue to pick up the slack for softening U.S. demand. “Even though we’re currently weathering a recessionary storm in the United States,” CEO Jim Owens said, “we expect the rest of the world to continue to invest in infrastructure growth well into the next decade.” Shares rose 5% in pre-market trading Friday.

Deere (DE) profit leaped in the first quarter as the global farm boom rolls on. The Moline, Ill. tractor maker posted a profit of $369 million, or 83 cents a share, up from the year-ago $239 million, or 52 cents a share. Sales surged 18 percent from a year ago, to $5.2 billion. The results were better than expected: Wall Street analysts were looking for a 78-cent profit on sales of $5.07 billion. Like another maker of heavy machinery, Caterpillar (CAT), Deere is finding that strong global growth and a weak dollar are helping to offset a softening performance at home.

“Advanced product offerings that help John Deere customers be more profitable and productive are supporting the company’s financial performance and helping expand our global market presence,” CEO Robert Lane said. “Further, benefiting from our ongoing actions to create a fundamentally more resilient, more successful business, Deere’s non-agricultural operations remain on a profitable course in spite of weakening economic conditions in the United States.”

Indeed, sales outside the United States surged 37 percent from a year ago, dwarfing a 9 percent rise in North America. Deere expects strong overseas demand to continue, which is why it’s forecasting a 23 percent sales increase for the second quarter - well above the analyst consensus estimate. “The company remains in a prime position to benefit from powerful trends sweeping the world,” Lane said, “such as growing affluence, increasing demand for food and infrastructure, and the rising use of biofuels.”

Caterpillar (CAT) says overseas economies are still growing fast enough to enable the company to overcome “recessionary” conditions in the U.S. The Peoria, Ill., tractor maker posted a fourth-quarter profit of $975 million, or $1.50 a share, up from the year-ago $882 million, or $1.32 a share. Sales rose 10 percent from a year ago to $12.1 billion. CEO Jim Owens said the company continues to grow according to its plan despite a sharp drop in demand domestically. For 2007, for instance, Caterpillar said engine sales increased 6 percent - despite a 59 percent decline in North American on-highway truck engine sales. Because of solid overseas demand, Owens said Caterpillar continues to expect to post profit growth of 5 percent to 15 percent for 2008, on sales growth of 5 percent to 10 percent. “While we expect anemic growth in the U.S. economy,” Owens said, “we continue to see positive conditions for our sales in most of the rest of the world.” That’s optimistic enough to drive the stock, which has dropped around 10 percent so far this year, up modestly in pre-market trading Friday.