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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
Obama: Reform Wall Street, Save 'Big 3'
April 26, 2010 4:33 am | by Darlene Superville, Associated Press Writer | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday cited encouraging signs of an auto industry rebound as he promoted stronger financial rules that he said would help prevent a repeat of the crisis that pushed carmakers to the brink. Senate Democrats have set a test vote Monday on legislation to tighten federal oversight of the financial sector.
Chinese Automakers Take Aim At 'Green' Market Niche
April 26, 2010 4:30 am | by Chi-Chi Zhang, Associated Press Writer | CommentsBEIJING (AP) — The first Chinese-made car to hit the U.S. market might be an all-electric minivan that skips over gasoline technology and gets a head start on the auto industry's next era. BYD Inc., part-owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., hopes to start selling its five-seat e6 on the West Coast this year.
Upbeat Earning Reports Point To Improving Economy
April 26, 2010 4:21 am | by Ieva M. Augstums, AP Business Writer | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — Stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open on Wall Street Monday after Caterpillar Inc. joined other companies in reporting more signs of an improving world economy. The big equipment maker, whose results are seen as an economic indicator, reported first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations after a one-time charge related to health care expenses.
Canadians Plan 200-Job Alabama Auto Supplier
April 23, 2010 4:30 am | CommentsFORT PAYNE, Ala. (AP) — A Canadian auto supplier says it plans to invest $14 million to $16 million in a plant to be built in Fort Payne that will initially employ 200 people. Plasman Corp, part of A.P. Plasman Corp. of Windsor, Ontario, says the facility will do plastic-injection molding, painting and assembly of automotive exterior parts and tool repair.
Automakers Relived As Auto Fleets Balloon
April 23, 2010 4:18 am | by Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer | CommentsDEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — U.S. auto sales to fleets surged 47 percent in the first quarter compared to last year, an early sign of economic improvement as governments, construction businesses and rental-car companies began buying again. Automakers are expecting fleet sales to continue to climb.
Boeing Fined $500,000 For Nuclear Runoff
April 23, 2010 4:15 am | CommentsVENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Regional water quality regulators have fined Boeing Co. $500,000 for contaminated stormwater runoff at a former nuclear and rocket engine testing facility in eastern Ventura County. The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a consent judgment Thursday also ordering Boeing to pay $75,000 in attorneys fees and civil penalties for days when contaminants exceeded permitted limits at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.
Spyker Producing 1,000 Saabs A Week
April 23, 2010 4:13 am | CommentsAMSTERDAM (AP) — Spyker Cars NV, the owner of Saab Automobile AB, said Friday it is producing Saab cars at the rate of 1,000 per week since resuming production in March. Spyker, the Dutch niche luxury car maker which in its 11-year history never made a profit, confounded critics by buying the much larger Saab from General Motors in January for $74 million (euro52 million) — less cash than Saab had on its books.
Kia Profits Quadruple In Early 2010
April 23, 2010 4:10 am | by Kelly Olsen, AP Business Writer | CommentsSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kia Motors said net profit quadrupled in the first quarter on stronger sales and equity gains from affiliated companies. Kia, South Korea's second-largest automaker, earned 398.6 billion won ($358 million) in the three months ended March 31, it said in a regulatory filing Friday.
The New Detroit: Goodbye Cars, Hello Crops
April 23, 2010 4:07 am | by David Runk, Associated Press Writer | CommentsDETROIT (AP) — Detroit, which revolutionized manufacturing with its auto assembly lines, could once again be a model for the world as residents transform vacant, often-blighted land into a source of fresh food. With growing interest in locally raised food, cities including New York, Los Angeles and Seattle are looking at ways to foster and manage urban agriculture.
GE Transportation Mulls Rehiring 145 of 1,500 Laid Off
April 21, 2010 4:48 am | CommentsERIE, Pa. (AP) — The union at GE Transportation's plant in Erie will vote Friday on some work rule changes necessary to bring back 145 of 1,500 workers laid off last year. The plan would recall 88 laid off workers permanently and 57 others for 12 weeks to fill a specific order. A company official says GE wants to be prepared should the market for locomotives improve.
The 'Volvo King Kong' And Geely's Cheeky Past
April 21, 2010 4:44 am | by Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer | CommentsSHANGHAI (AP) — Chinese tycoon Li Shufu's car company Geely has a knack for giving its vehicles oddball names: Gleagle, King Kong, Englon. Not as memorable for buyers of the King Kong and its stablemates is a standard of quality that's so-so even by the Chinese auto industry's standards. Zhejiang Geely Holding Co.
Poll: U.S. Makes Better Cars Than Asian Automakers
April 21, 2010 4:36 am | by Alan Fram, Associated Press Writer | CommentsWASHINGTON (AP) — After a long romance with foreign rivals, America's love affair with the automobile is returning to its roots with a revived affection for U.S.-made cars. Slightly more Americans now say the United States makes better-quality vehicles than Asia does, with 38 percent saying U.
Volcano Disrupts Just-In-Time Manufacturers
April 21, 2010 4:10 am | by Samantha Bomkamp, AP Business Writer | CommentsNEW YORK (AP) — The strategy of keeping inventories lean paid off for U.S. manufacturers during the recession. Just-in-time delivery of parts makes even more sense when budgets are tight. Now that a giant ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland is disrupting global air freight, some manufacturers are finding that this strategy is backfiring.
Ammonia Leak Leads To Evacuation Of 125
April 21, 2010 4:10 am | CommentsBIRDSBORO, Pa. (AP) — An ammonia leak at a kosher Pennsylvania poultry plant has led to the evacuation of about 125 people, including six who suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Emergency crews were called Tuesday night to the Mehadrin Kosher Poultry plant in Birdsboro, which is about 8 miles southeast of Reading.
GM Repays $6.7 Billion Government Loan
April 21, 2010 4:08 am | by Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | CommentsDETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co. has repaid the $8.1 billion in loans it got from the U.S. and Canadian governments, a move its CEO says is a sign automaker is on the road to recovery. GM CEO Whitacre will formally announce the loan paybacks Wednesday at the company's Fairfax AssemblyPlant in Kansas City, Kansas, where he will also announce that GM is investing $257 million in that factory and the Detroit-Hamtramck plant, both of which will build the next generation of the midsize Chevrolet Malibu.
