Manufacturing news
August 2003
The word on work
The Employment Policy Foundation released this week its annual Workplace Report, which focuses on employment and production issues. The findings show that even with many issues of uncertainty, progress continues apace.
29 Aug 2003 14:44
Latest economic reports show promise
New orders for manufactured durable goods in July increased $1.7 billion or 1.0 percent to $174.0 billion, the Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau reported yesterday.
28 Aug 2003 15:17
Glass plant to close
Owens-Illinois, Inc., the largest manufacturer of glass containers in North America, announced that the company will not rebuild its plant in Hayward, CA. 170 employees will be affected.
27 Aug 2003 16:30
Farm equipment forecasts improve
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) this week predicted modest gains in total sales of farm tractors in the U.S. and Canada for 2003 followed by stronger growth in 2004.
26 Aug 2003 14:38
US Mid-Atlantic Region spots growth
According to manufacturing firms surveyed in August in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, things are looking up.
25 Aug 2003 15:13
Toyota expands pickup production
Toyota has announced plans to expand a truck plant currently under construction in Mexico. The company will add 10,000 units of Tacoma capacity, 240 jobs, and will begin production at the end of 2004.
20 Aug 2003 14:51
Johnson Electric Expands Operations
Not every manufacturer is leaving North America it seems. Johnson Electric announced today the completion of its North American expansion in Plymouth, Michigan.
19 Aug 2003 15:17
New Materials Plant Proposed
BASF and The Dow Chemical Company recently announced plans to build the first world-scale plant to manufacture propylene oxide using hydrogen peroxide (HPPO), a key raw material in the production of a wide variety of products.
13 Aug 2003 15:13
Dupont Looking to Sell Textiles Business
DuPont announced yesterday that it is in exclusive negotiations with subsidiaries of Koch Industries Inc., of Wichita, Kansas, regarding the possible sale of DuPont Textiles & Interiors (DTI).
12 Aug 2003 15:14
Tool Use Shows Growth
June U.S. machine tool consumption totaled $244.55 million, according to the American Machine Tool Distributors’ Association (AMTDA) and The Association for Manufacturing Technology (AMT).
11 Aug 2003 15:26
New site devoted to the joy of manufacturing
The Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing shows how things are made
05 Aug 2003 16:46
Weak dollar hits Toyota profits
The Japanese car firm Toyota has said that the weak dollar has undermined its profits.
05 Aug 2003 10:05
Manufacturing shows growth in July
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in July, while the overall economy grew for the 21st consecutive month, according to the latest Manufacturing Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Report On Business issued today.
04 Aug 2003 13:50
Automakers make peace with state
The California Air Resources Board (ARB), DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Isuzu Motors Limited, General Motors Corporation, and several motor vehicle dealers jointly announced an agreement to end litigation involving the 2001 Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) regulation this month.
01 Aug 2003 15:04
Free seminars filling fast at September’s UK showcase
US manufacturers are being urged to join their UK cousins to take up “an unprecedented opportunity” to learn best practice from those who are practicing it. As soon as details of The Manufacturer Live 2003 were released last month there was a rush of activity to pre-register and secure places at its 42 free seminars, presentations and workshops presented exclusively by manufacturing folk.
01 Aug 2003 15:34
House moves to save manufacturing
US House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo (R-IL) last month organized 29 fellow House members into a special caucus devoted to preserve manufacturing jobs in America. Headed by Manzullo and co-chair Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), the group has announced a number of initiatives to reverse the job- less trend in the manufacturing sector, estimated at almost 3 million in the past three years.
01 Aug 2003 15:02
Learning to love lean
According to a survey of Fortune 1000-type companies released this month, some performance management systems like Lean and Six Sigma are widely known among manufacturers. And for 87 percent of American managers whose companies use them, they also like them.
01 Aug 2003 15:01
Litigators eye new target
Polluter beware! is the likely battle cry for a new lobby group of lawyers, scientists and more than 40 civil groups who support the use of the law to combat climate change. Following in the fashion wake of tobacco, asbestos and food sector, it is now those who are seen to be responsible for climate change that are in the firing line.
01 Aug 2003 15:44
More US parts for Chinese Planes
More big business is announced from Asia for US-based aerospace manufacturers. AVIC Commercial Aircraft (ACAC) of Shanghai picked Hamilton Sundstrand to supply multiple systems for its new 80-100 passenger regional jet, the ARJ21.
01 Aug 2003 16:12
Raytheon wins missile contract
In keeping with the Bush Administration’s intention to upgrade missile defense capabilities next year, $16.8 billion Raytheon Company, Lexington, MA, has been awarded a $881.4 contract from the U.S. Navy for continued development of the STANDARD Missile-3 (SM-3) for the next three years.
01 Aug 2003 15:06
Technology will separate leaders from laggards
US companies are investing in supply chain integration solutions to improve customer interaction and reduce inventory costs. A new report from Boston-based technology research and analysis group Yankee called “Electronic Supply Chain Cost of Ownership,” found that companies were investing in direct-connect (AS2 and EDIINT), RosettaNet, collaborative forecasting, and UCCnet technology to streamline supply chains. Preparedness to embrace technology and the internet would distinguish corporate successes from business laggards, it went on.
01 Aug 2003 15:41
US Chamber urges EU to rethink chemical regulations
The United States Chamber of Commerce has urged the European Union to rethink its proposed approach to testing, registering and restricting chemicals and chemical products in the European market, in comments filed with the European commission. “The draft regulation’s underlying assumption is that all chemicals are inherently dangerous and all producers are irresponsible polluters,” said Gary Litman, Chamber vice president for Europe and Eurasia. “This is a regulation based on fear and superstition, rather than fact.”
01 Aug 2003 15:45