Manufacturing news
March 2004
Numbers looking up
The Department of Commerce, Census Bureau reported today that new orders for manufactured goods increased $1.1 billion or 0.3 percent to $343.0 billion in February
31 Mar 2004 20:42
Kraft Foods acquires Veryfine Products
Northfield, IL-based Kraft Foods, the largest North American branded foods and beverage company, announced that it has closed on its purchase of Littleton, MA-based beverage manufacturer Veryfine Products.
30 Mar 2004 20:28
ATK receives $140 million ammunition order from US Army
Edina, MN-based Alliant Techsystems (ATK), the largest US ammunition supplier, received a $140 million order from the Rock Island, IL-based US Army Joint Munitions Command, to supply small-caliber ammunition to the US Department of Defense.
29 Mar 2004 21:51
Boeing selects Hamilton Sundstrand for 7E7 power system
Chicago, IL-based aerospace giant Boeing has selected Windsor Locks, CT-based aerospace systems manufacturer Hamilton Sundstrand to provide another major system for its 7E7 passenger plane.
26 Mar 2004 18:50
Gross domestic product, corporate profits slow down
Real gross domestic product—the output of goods and services produced in the United States—increased at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003, a slower rate than the previous quarter, according to revised estimates released by the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.
25 Mar 2004 18:43
New rail yard dedicated as Alabama Honda plant expands
Lincoln, AL-based automaker Honda Manufacturing of Alabama and Norfolk, VA-based transportation company Norfolk Southern today dedicated a new $15 million rail yard at Lincoln, AL, as Honda prepared to expand its plant.
25 Mar 2004 19:26
Mass layoffs in manufacturing down
The manufacturing sector had 26 percent of all mass layoff events and
27 percent of all initial claims filed in February, both the lowest percentages for any February on record, the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
24 Mar 2004 18:31
New orders, shipments for manufactured durable goods up
New orders for manufactured durable goods in February increased $4.5 billion, or 2.5 percent, to $183.8 billion, the US Department of Commerce’s Census Bureau reported today.
24 Mar 2004 21:14
McCormick reports record first quarter sales
The world’s leading spice manufacturer, McCormick, reported record sales for the first quarter of 2004, the company announced today.
23 Mar 2004 18:57
Owens-Illinois appoints new CEO
Toledo, OH-based glass-container manufacturer Owens-Illinois announced today that it has appointed former DuPont executive Steven R. McCracken as its new president and chief executive officer.
22 Mar 2004 19:44
US files WTO complaint against China
The United States filed a complaint against Chinese trade practices at the World Trade Organization yesterday, for what it claims are unfair taxes against foreign-made semiconductors.
19 Mar 2004 15:49
First-time jobless claims hit three-year low
Initial unemployment filings dropped to 336,000 for the week ending March 13, down 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure, and the lowest level ever during the Bush administration, reported the US Department of Labor today.
18 Mar 2004 18:58
General Motors to recall more than four million pickups
General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, announced that it was planning to recall more than four million of its pickup trucks due to replace faulty tailgate-support cables that could potentially corrode and break.
18 Mar 2004 19:30
Fisher to buy Apogent in $3.7 billion deal
Hampton, NH-based scientific equipment manufacturer Fisher Scientific International announced today that it had finalized a deal to buy fellow scientific equipment manufacturer Portsmouth, NH-based Apogent Technologies for $2.7 billion plus the assumption of $1 billion in debt.
17 Mar 2004 18:56
General Dynamics receives $66.6 million rocket order
An arms-manufacturing unit of Falls Church, VA-based defense contractor General Dynamics received a $66.6 million order from the US Army Aviation and Missile Command for the production of unguided rockets, motors and warheads for the US Army, Air Force, Navy and foreign military customers.
16 Mar 2004 18:37
Manufacturing output up in February
The US Federal Reserve reported today that manufacturing output rose by one percent in February, part of a larger-than-expected 0.7 percent increase in production by industry as a whole.
15 Mar 2004 18:56
Downward trend in unemployment claims continues
First-time unemployment claims dropped to 341,000 for the week ending March 6, down 6,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 347,000, the US Department of Labor reported this week, continuing the overall downward trend of recent weeks.
12 Mar 2004 19:25
Manufacturing czar announcement postponed
The Bush administration postponed the announcement of its first choice for a new cabinet-level manufacturing post, after Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry’s campaign publicly criticized the potential nominee’s past outsourcing practices.
12 Mar 2004 14:55
US trade gap on the rise
The US trade deficit hit a record $43.1 billion in January, the US Department of Commerce reported today.
10 Mar 2004 20:22
Alliant Techsystems gets $24.6 million ammunition order from US Army
Edina, MN-based Alliant Techsystems, the largest US ammunition supplier, announced that it has received a $24.6 million small-caliber ammunition order for the US Department of Defense.
09 Mar 2004 18:29
Weyerhaeuser to pay $34.5 million settlement
Federal Way, WA-based forest products company Weyerhaeuser announced today that it has agreed to pay a settlement of $34.5 million in an antitrust suit.
09 Mar 2004 16:48
J.M. Smucker acquires International Multifoods in $840 million deal
Orrville, OH-based jam and jelly maker J.M. Smucker Company announced today that it was acquiring Minnetonka, MN-based International Multifoods for $500 million in cash and stock and the assumption of $340 million in debt.
08 Mar 2004 16:13
Manufacturing employment, unemployment rate unchanged in February
A total of 21,000 jobs were added nationwide in nonfarm employment in February, while manufacturing employment was unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the US Department of Labor reported today.
05 Mar 2004 19:34
Honeywell awarded $1 million contract from Qatari company
Honeywell Process Solutions today announced that it has signed a $1 million contract with the Qatar Fertiliser Company (QAFCO).
04 Mar 2004 20:59
Unemployment claims head downward
Initial unemployment claims dropped to 345,000 for the week ending February 28, down 7,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 352,000, the US Department of Labor reported today.
04 Mar 2004 20:45
Gateway to cut 1,000 jobs
Poway, CA-based computer manufacturer Gateway will cut another 1,000 workers in the next few months, on top of about 900 layoffs that have occurred at the company since December.
03 Mar 2004 18:18
Ford signs $100 million printing services contract with Hewlett-Packard
Ford, the second-largest US automaker, and Palo Alto, CA-based computer-hardware maker Hewlett-Packard have signed an imaging and printing services contract worth $100 million.
02 Mar 2004 17:37
European Union levies tariffs on several US exports
The European Union began levying World Trade Organization-approved penalty tariffs on several US exports today, in an effort to force the US Congress to repeal certain tax breaks for US exporters.
01 Mar 2004 21:12
ISM reports growth in manufacturing
Economic activity grew in the manufacturing sector in February, according to the Institute for Supply Management's Report On Business released today. All 20 manufacturing industries the report covers showed growth.
01 Mar 2004 17:22
375,000 workers’ benefits run out
According to a study released by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 375,000 workers’ unemployment benefits ran out at the end of January, with those workers having no job or further access to government aid.
01 Mar 2004 16:45
GM recalls 2.4 million vehicles
General Motors, on the heels of a massive January 824,000-car recall, announced in February that it was recalling 1.8 million cars due to a problem with their ignition system that could potentially start fires, as well as 636,000 SUVs due to a defective part.
01 Mar 2004 16:44
Jimmy Dean booted as spokesman
Jimmy Dean, the country-music legend and television pitchman, announced that Chicago, IL-based food giant Sara Lee has dropped him as the spokesman for the line of sausage products that bears his name.
01 Mar 2004 16:43
Kodak to cut 15,000 jobs, grow digital-camera business
Kodak was a pioneer of digital-imaging technology in the 1970s, developing several image sensors that could record digital images.
01 Mar 2004 16:42
Toyota bumps Ford to number three
Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota surpassed Dearborn, MI-based automaker Ford as the number-two automaker in the world, just behind Detroit, MI-based giant General Motors.
01 Mar 2004 16:43