Cummins Inc. is still projecting a decrease in revenues this year of between 2% and 5%.

The yearly revenue decline has been forecast over the past several months by Cummins officials. But changing environmental regulations point to a likelihood of a 2025 rebound that the Jamestown Engine Plant will find itself in the middle of helping power with the X15N engine produced at the local plant.

The Jamestown Engine Plant is in the midst of a $452 million interior facelift in preparation for Cummins’ X15N engine, a new offering that has already started production in Jamestown with increased production necessary in the next couple of years as tougher environmental regulations take effect. The X15N engine is the next generation of the venerable X15 engine and is the industry’s first fuel-agnostic internal combustion engine platform that leverages a range of lower carbon fuel types. The fuel-agnostic architecture of the 15-liter platform utilizes a common base engine with cylinder heads and fuel systems specifically tailored for it to use carbon-free hydrogen or biogas with up to a 90% carbon reduction. The company will also continue producing the X15 engine.

“And we are investing, as we’ve talked about in the new HELM engine platforms,” said Jennifer Rumsey, Cummins president and CEO. “And we’re in a unique position because of our scale to continue investing in what will be market-leading engine solutions to meet those future regulations. And so we expect that, that will provide some advantage for us as we go into those regulations. There will be a dynamic we think that’s going to play out in the 2025 and 2026 time period as end customers anticipate a major regulation change and what that will mean to them. And so we expect that’s going to drive some things beyond the normal cycle in the U.S. truck market.”

The company announced its first quarter financial results this week. First quarter revenues of $8.4 billion decreased 1% from the same quarter in 2023. Sales in North America were flat, and international revenues decreased 1% due to lower demand in China and Europe. Net income attributable to Cummins in the first quarter was $2.0 billion, or $14.03 per diluted share, compared to $790 million, or $5.55 per diluted share, in 2023.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the first quarter were $2.6 billion, or 30.6% of sales, compared to $1.4 billion, or 16.1% of sales, a year ago.

“In summary, we delivered solid sales, profitability, and positive cash flow in the first quarter,” said Mark Smith, Cummins CFO. “We do still expect moderation in some of our key markets in the second half of 2024, but we have raised our expectations of our own performance relative to our prior guide. We took some steps to reduce costs in the fourth quarter of 2023 and continue to identify ways to streamline our business going forward leaving us well positioned to navigate any economic cyclicality and continue investing and delivering strong financial performance.”

In other news:

Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Trucks & Buses and PACCAR selected Marshall County, Mississippi, as the future site of advanced battery cell manufacturing for their planned joint venture. The joint venture will localize battery cell production for commercial electric vehicles and is expected to create more than 2,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs, with the option for further expansion as demand grows. The 21-gigawatt hour (GWh) factory is expected to begin producing battery cells in 2027.

Cummins re-introduced the fuel agnostic platforms with a name that captures the innovation that powers the business forward, the Cummins HELM platforms. The fuel agnostic platforms will be made in Jamestown, as noted above, but are being referred to as the HELM platforms.

In April, Cummins Power Generation introduced four new generator sets to the award-winning Centum Series, two each powered by Cummins’ QSK50 and QSK78 engines. In response to high market demand, these new models have been engineered specifically for the most critical applications such as data centers, healthcare facilities and wastewater treatment plants. These products build on decades of experience meeting our customers’ needs and deliver a step-change improvement in power density, assured reliability, sustainability and low emissions.