Financing Activities (Details) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
Customer
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	$ 609		$ 609		$ 593
Unpaid Principal Balance	596		596		584
Related Allowance	77		77		54
Average Recorded Investment	626	480	615	477
Interest Income Recognized	3	1	7	4
Customer | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With No Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	361		361		378
Unpaid Principal Balance	358		358		377
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	378	321	376	316
Interest Income Recognized	3	1	4	3
Customer | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With An Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	248		248		215
Unpaid Principal Balance	238		238		207
Related Allowance	77		77		54
Average Recorded Investment	248	159	239	161
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	3	1
Customer | North America
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	38		38		53
Unpaid Principal Balance	33		33		50
Related Allowance	3		3		7
Average Recorded Investment	45	83	48	89
Interest Income Recognized	2	0	3	1
Customer | North America | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With No Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	27		27		28
Unpaid Principal Balance	25		25		27
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	28	57	28	63
Interest Income Recognized	2	0	3	1
Customer | North America | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With An Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	11		11		25
Unpaid Principal Balance	8		8		23
Related Allowance	3		3		7
Average Recorded Investment	17	26	20	26
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Customer | Europe
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	70		70		73
Unpaid Principal Balance	66		66		71
Related Allowance	8		8		11
Average Recorded Investment	66	68	69	69
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	1	0
Customer | Europe | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With No Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	48		48		45
Unpaid Principal Balance	48		48		45
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	45	45	45	45
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Customer | Europe | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With An Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	22		22		28
Unpaid Principal Balance	18		18		26
Related Allowance	8		8		11
Average Recorded Investment	21	23	24	24
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	1	0
Customer | Asia/Pacific
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	19		19		21
Unpaid Principal Balance	18		18		21
Related Allowance	3		3		4
Average Recorded Investment	21	17	22	16
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	1	1
Customer | Asia/Pacific | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With No Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	5		5		2
Unpaid Principal Balance	4		4		2
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	5	3	5	3
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Customer | Asia/Pacific | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With An Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	14		14		19
Unpaid Principal Balance	14		14		19
Related Allowance	3		3		4
Average Recorded Investment	16	14	17	13
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	1	1
Customer | Mining
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	1		1		1
Unpaid Principal Balance	1		1		1
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	6	8	4	8
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Customer | Mining | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With No Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	1		1		1
Unpaid Principal Balance	1		1		1
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	4	8	3	8
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Customer | Mining | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With An Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	0		0		0
Unpaid Principal Balance	0		0		0
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	2	0	1	0
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Customer | Latin America
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	45		45		37
Unpaid Principal Balance	46		46		37
Related Allowance	15		15		8
Average Recorded Investment	50	22	47	24
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	1	0
Customer | Latin America | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With No Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	10		10		7
Unpaid Principal Balance	10		10		7
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	9	5	9	6
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Customer | Latin America | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With An Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	35		35		30
Unpaid Principal Balance	36		36		30
Related Allowance	15		15		8
Average Recorded Investment	41	17	38	18
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	1	0
Customer | Caterpillar Power Finance
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	436		436		408
Unpaid Principal Balance	432		432		404
Related Allowance	48		48		24
Average Recorded Investment	438	282	425	271
Interest Income Recognized	1	1	1	2
Customer | Caterpillar Power Finance | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With No Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	270		270		295
Unpaid Principal Balance	270		270		295
Related Allowance	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	287	203	286	191
Interest Income Recognized	1	1	1	2
Customer | Caterpillar Power Finance | Impaired Loans and Finance Leases With An Allowance Recorded
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	166		166		113
Unpaid Principal Balance	162		162		109
Related Allowance	48		48		24
Average Recorded Investment	151	79	139	80
Interest Income Recognized	0	0	0	0
Dealer
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	0	0	0	0
Caterpillar Purchased Receivables
Financing Receivable, Impaired
Recorded Investment	0		0		0
Average Recorded Investment	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0