Caterpillar to buy rail service provider

Caterpillar to buy rail service provider    Heavy equipment and engine maker Caterpillar said Tuesday it plans to acquire Progress Rail Service Inc. for $1 billion in cash, stock and debt.
   Albertville, Ala.-based Progress provides remanufactured locomotives and railcars, equipment and track repair, rail welding and railcar dismantling for North American railroads.
   Progress, which is majority owned by JP Morgan Chase following its 2005 spin-off from Progress Energy, had $1.2 billion in revenue last year.
   Caterpillar indicated that the acquisition of an after-market maintenance business would increase profitability and smooth out ebbs in the manufacturing cycle. Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., said it planned to expand its array of services and export them to the rest of the world.