Manufacturing news
March 2003
Honda recognizes BorgWarner for supplier performance
For the second year, BorgWarner TorqTransfer was recognized by Honda America for its achievements in providing outstanding quality and delivery over the past 12 months.
31 Mar 2003 23:08
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ends Discussions to Separate Deloitte Consulting
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu blamed an uncertain economy and and a fall off in consulting work in announcing its decision to end discussions to separate Deloitte Consulting through a buy-out of that practice by the consulting group's partners.
29 Mar 2003 12:15
R-R to power experimental US Navy catamaran
Rolls-Royce has announced today that its Kamewa waterjets have been selected for X-Craft, an experimental high-speed aluminum catamaran.
28 Mar 2003 15:28
Supply-Chain Council to open chapters in North America, Brazil
The Supply-Chain Council has announced plans to open chapters in North America and Brazil to provide a forum for top executives to share supply challenges and accomplishments.
27 Mar 2003 22:06
Toyota awards six North American suppliers for quality and delivery
Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America (TMMNA) presented six of its key suppliers with awards at a ceremony in Covington, KY for achieving its high quality, delivery, and value improvement standards during the launch of the new Corolla model.
27 Mar 2003 21:40
New orders drop 1.2% in February
New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 1.2% to $170.2 billion in February, following a 1.9% increase in January, according to the Commerce Department’s advanced report.
26 Mar 2003 14:27
AGCO selects Jackson, MN site for tractor facility
Agricultural equipment manufacturer AGCO announced that Jackson, Minnesota will be the new location for its MT 700 & 800 Challenger track tractor series manufacturing facility.
25 Mar 2003 18:55
Cummins Westport receives funding for hydrogen/natural gas bus engine trials
Cummins Westport, a collaborative project between Cummins, Inc. and Westport Innovations, announced it, along with other members of the SunLine Services Group team, has received a $770,000 funding commitment for a bus engine field trial involving a hydrogen/natural gas fuel blend.
25 Mar 2003 19:13
Solectron cuts 12,000 jobs
Solectron, a global electronics manufacturer, will take a $300 million charge over the next few quarters to restructure its operations.
25 Mar 2003 15:02
Commerce Department introduces plan for reducing trade barriers
Because of growing industry concerns over foreign standards and technical regulation issues, the Commerce Department announced the Standards Initiative, an eight-point strategy to help break down trade barriers and other obstacles to expanding exports.
24 Mar 2003 17:02
Mitsubishi Motors NA to expand plant, increase production by 25%
Mitsubishi Motors North America will add 300 jobs and invest $200 million into its Normal, Illinois plant.
24 Mar 2003 22:38
US grants additional 295 products exemption from steel tariffs
The Bush Administration has announced that another 295 foreign steel products have been excluded from the tariffs imposed last year, aimed at giving respite to the ailing domestic steel market.
24 Mar 2003 22:13
Jobless claims decrease by 4,000
First-time jobless claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 4,000 to 421,000 during the week ending March 15, the Labor Department reported.
21 Mar 2003 21:35
Philly index plummets in March
Overall business conditions in the mid-Atlantic region plummeted for the first time in five months in March to -0.8 from 2.3 in February, according to the Fed’s Philly index, which covers Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, and southern New Jersey.
21 Mar 2003 17:15
TI Automotive receives two Shingo Prizes for manufacturing excellence
TI Automotive received two Shingo Prizes for excellence in lean manufacturing for itts plants in Caro and New Haven, Michigan. Often referred to as the Nobel Prize of manufacturing, it is given in honor of Dr. Shiego Shingo, creator of the Toyoda Production System.
21 Mar 2003 21:54
Leading indicators drop 0.4% in February
The Conference Board reported that its Leading Economic Indicators index fell by 0.4% from the previous month to 111.1 in February, a sign that fears of war and terrorism are taking their toll.
20 Mar 2003 16:36
Survey says few manufacturers expect disruptions from War
Most US businesses are more concerned about the longer-term drain on the domestic economy and particularly on consumer spending because of the war in Iraq, rather than any major immediate disruptions, according to an AMR Research FastFacts survey.
20 Mar 2003 22:02
Boeing to outsource and reduce workforce
Boeing announced it will outsource a portion of its parts manufacturing from its Auburn fabrication plant to outside contractors, resulting in increased job cuts and divesting additional facilities.
19 Mar 2003 16:21
Caterpillar gains EPA approval on C7 engine
Caterpillar has received certification by the US Environmental Protection Agency for its C7 engine, which is equipped with Advanced Combustion Emission Reduction Technology (ACERT).
19 Mar 2003 22:07
Chrysler and UAW recognized for plant safety
Chrysler Group and United Auto Workers (UAW) were recognized with a number of awards by the National Safety Council (NSC) for outstanding performance in joint company-union efforts to improve employee safety and health in Chrysler Group factories.
19 Mar 2003 22:31
Delphi donates equipment for Wayne State University clean room
Delphi donated $7 million in equipment toward opening a clean room as part of the Smart Sensors and Integrated Microsystems labs at Wayne State University’s College of Engineering in Michigan.
18 Mar 2003 18:54
Import prices on the rise
The import price index for the US increased 1.3% in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
18 Mar 2003 16:13
NY factory activity slows
Manufacturing activity in the NY region slowed down in March, as the Empire State Manufacturing Survey fell to -2.5 in March from 1.1 in February and 20.7 in January, according to the New York Federal Bank.
18 Mar 2003 21:23
Boeing’s jet deliveries sink in February
Boeing’s commercial jet unit delivered only 24 planes to customers last month, a 33% drop from February 2002.
17 Mar 2003 22:06
Factory output drops in February
Manufacturing production was 0.1 % lower in February, while overall industrial production gained 0.1%, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest statistics.
17 Mar 2003 20:13
Mitsubishi invests $200M in plant expansion
Mitsubishi Motors North America (MMNA) will invest $200 million in expanding its Normal, Ill. manufacturing facility, ramping up its capacity by 25% from 240,000 to 300,000 units and adding approximately 300 new jobs.
17 Mar 2003 14:27
Federal agencies form manufacturing R&D alliance
Six federal agencies that deal with manufacturing R&D have teamed up to create the Government Agencies Technology Exchange in Manufacturing (GATE-M), which aims to improve the exchange of information on technical programs, to facilitate collaboration in leveraging resources for certain issues, and to advocate issues on an interagency, national level.
14 Mar 2003 19:53
International Steel signs purchase agreement with Bethlehem Steel
One of the leading North American steel makers, International Steel Group (ISG), has signed a formal asset purchase agreement to acquire Bethlehem Steel for $1.5 billion and the assumption of certain debt.
14 Mar 2003 22:02
Tyco to shut down 300 plants by 2006
Tyco, a leading conglomerate manufacturer, has announced plans to close 300 plants by 2006 to reduce its overall costs by $1 billion.
14 Mar 2003 21:37
Boeing resumes 777-200LR production
After freezing production on the world’s longest-range jet in October 2001 because of 9/11, Boeing has picked up where it left off.
13 Mar 2003 23:08
Leading automakers to slash production
The two largest auto manufacturers, GM and Ford, are expected to reduce production even more in coming months because of the possible war with Iraq and the plummeting consumer confidence.
13 Mar 2003 22:59
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Caterpillar to expand Asian operations
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Caterpillar have signed an agreement that expands their 40-year old joint venture, Shin Caterpillar Mitsubishi (SCM) based in Tokyo, Japan.
13 Mar 2003 16:57
Delphi becomes leading Shingo winner in award’s history
Four Delphi facilities were awarded the 2003 Shingo Prize for excellence in lean manufacturing.
12 Mar 2003 19:45
NAM says trade deficit reflects economic state
January’s $3.8 billion drop in the trade deficit from $44.9 billion to $41.1 billion, is primarily an indication of a weakened economy.
12 Mar 2003 22:24
Richmond’s manufacturing index drops
Overall, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s index of manufacturing activity decreased in February.
12 Mar 2003 21:39
Caterpillar joins Mazda in service-parts logistics agreement
Caterpillar Logistics Services will provide the distribution of service-parts to Mazda North American Operations dealerships in the US and Canada, according to a recent agreement between the two companies.
11 Mar 2003 18:12
Hyundai and Kia outsource logistics operation
Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America have announced the formation of HK Logistics America (HKLA), based in Costa Mesa, Calif., to be responsible for total vehicle logistics management for the two companies.
11 Mar 2003 20:03
Small manufacturers urge Congress for increased domestic natural gas supplies
America’s small manufacturers are struggling under the brunt of skyrocketing natural gas prices, according to a National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) release.
11 Mar 2003 21:41
Indiana AK Steel workers vote in favor of UAW
AK Steel’s finished rolled steel plant workers in Rockport, Indiana voted by a margin 118-88 to join the UAW.
10 Mar 2003 16:48
NextEnergy receives $2M in federal support for hydrogen-fuel cell research
NextEnergy, an alternative energy research, development, and education program based in Michigan, was awarded $2 million in the Fiscal Year 2003 Energy and Water appropriations bill signed by President Bush in February.
10 Mar 2003 22:10
Revised international comparison of productivity for 2001
Output per hour in manufacturing decreased in the US, Canada, and Japan in 2001, according to the revised International Comparisons of Manufacturing Productivity and Unit Labor Cost Trends report issued by the Labor Department for 2001.
10 Mar 2003 14:09
BMW uses Perceptron’s flexible measurement system to reduce time and cost in product launch
Perceptron’s AutoGauge FMS robot-based flexible measurement system was chosen by BMW to improve quality and decrease cost and time from its new model launch.
07 Mar 2003 22:16
Unemployment rises to 5.8%
The loss of jobs was widespread in February, as unemployment increased from 5.7% in January to 5.8% and 308,000 non-farm workers lost their jobs, the Labor Department reported.
07 Mar 2003 16:20
White Wave runs operations on wind energy
The nation’s largest manufacturer of soy foods, Boulder, Co- based White Wave, will replace all of the electricity it uses in its manufacturing operations with wind energy and will save approximately 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
07 Mar 2003 19:30
New orders increased 2.1% in January
New orders for manufactured goods increased 2.1% in January, the largest monthly increase in five months, according to the Commerce Department’s latest release.
06 Mar 2003 20:21
Evans to spell out help measures for manufacturers
When he visits Chicago today (Wednesday, March 5) US Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans will tell delegates at National Manufacturing Week that better times are on the way.
05 Mar 2003 13:39
Industry rocked by record gas prices
With average gasoline prices topping the $2 a gallon mark in California, pundits are predicting that similar costs will quickly spread nationwide, with government admitting it is unable to do anything about it.
05 Mar 2003 13:37
Secretary Evans says ‘tell us what you want’
During his keynote address at National Manufacturing Week today in Chicago, Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans asked US manufacturers what actions they want the government to take to support them through this time of difficulty.
05 Mar 2003 20:18
Boeing to transfer launch vehicle assembly to Alabama
Boeing plans to consolidate its Delta launch vehicle manufacturing in Decatur, Alabama.
01 Mar 2003 16:21
Chicago Climate Exchange attracts big name companies
A number of US and international companies have joined with the city of Chicago to form the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
01 Mar 2003 17:31
Indexes and factory orders rise
Commerce Department figures for December, along with leading economic barometers for January, point to better times ahead. However, consumer confidence levels have sunk dramatically over the last month.
01 Mar 2003 9:38
ISM index: New orders still growing, but at slower rate
The Institute of Supply Management’s PMI index stands at 50.5%, a decrease of 3.4 percentage points from January.
01 Mar 2003 16:33
Mitsubishi employs flexible manufacturing
The recent start of Endeavor production at Mitsubishi Motors North America’s Normal, Ill.
01 Mar 2003 17:27
NAM supports Bush’s budget for growth
President Bush’s budget for the 2004 fiscal year illustrates the government’s solid commitment to speeding the economic recovery, getting Americans back to work, promoting pro-growth economic policies, and limiting government spending, according to Jerry Jasinowski, president of The National Association of Manufacturers.
01 Mar 2003 9:40
Steel consolidations continue
Consolidation in the steel industry, spurred by government imposed steel tariffs and federal insurance of pension plans, continues unabated.
01 Mar 2003 17:29
