Globalization
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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers
CAT Purchase In China Gets Huge Price Cut
May 17, 2013 12:42 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsCaterpillar will pay $135 million less for a Chinese mining equipment company after uncovering dodgy accounting practices that inflated its value. Caterpillar announced a non-cash $580 million charge earlier this year related to the sale after uncovering "accounting misconduct" during an internal investigation of ERA Mining Machinery Ltd. and its subsidiary Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical & Electrical Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Is It Possible to Bring Manufacturing Back to the U.S.?
May 17, 2013 12:33 pm | by David Mantey, Executive Editor, PD&D | News | CommentsIn the press, “reshoring” is defined as the repatriation of manufacturing operations from a low-cost country, back to the home country. In Washington, it stands as the repatriation of manufacturing operations from China, back to the U.S. But in reality, according to Young, it is the transfer of “some manufacturing production from a low-cost country back to the home country or to another country, low-cost or not.”
Building U.S. Manufacturing Strength
May 17, 2013 11:19 am | Articles | CommentsDouglas K. Woods, President of The Association For Manufacturing Technology, discusses the state of U.S. manufacturing, job development, and what the industry can expect going forward. While today’s manufacturing industry is more sophisticated and high tech than ever before, he says, the industry still needs to address some critical issues to be successful in the future.
Cambodian Shoe Factory Collapses, Kills 2
May 16, 2013 2:26 pm | by Sopheng Cheang, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe ceiling of a Cambodian factory that makes Asics sneakers collapsed on workers early Thursday, killing two people and injuring seven, in the latest accident spotlighting the often lethal safety conditions faced by those toiling in the global garment industry.
Toyota Begins To Export Yaris Out Of France
May 16, 2013 2:24 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsToyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it started manufacturing the Yaris compact car at its French factory for export to North America. Toyota began producing the North American-bound Yaris, known in Japan as the Vitz, at the factory of Toyota Motor Manufacturing France S.A.S. in Onnaing near the city of Valenciennes. It will be the first export of European-assembled models to North America.
Trade Group Slams Safety Pact For Bangladesh
May 16, 2013 2:21 pm | by Anne D'Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer | News | CommentsThe largest U.S. retail-industry group on Wednesday criticized an international pact aimed at improving factory conditions in Bangladesh's garment industry, saying it was a "one-size-fits-all" approach promoted by special interests. The five-year, legally binding contract requires them to help pay for fire safety and building improvements in Bangladesh.
Honda To Return To F1 As Engine Supplier
May 16, 2013 2:19 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsJapanese car manufacturer Honda is returning to Formula One in 2015 as an engine supplier to the automaker's former partner McLaren of Britain. Honda president Takanobu Ito announced the decision at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.
Paradise Lost For Asian Manufacturers
May 15, 2013 12:55 pm | by ReutersTV | Videos | CommentsCheap labor and fast production once made Asia a near-nirvana for Western retailers and manufacturers. Massive factories and a yound population with a strong work ethic created an ideal production location. But as risks, and costs, rise, many of these Western businesses are planning to shift their production closer to home.
Honda To Build Plant For New NSX In OH
May 15, 2013 10:09 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsHonda Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will build a manufacturing plant for its NSX sports car in the U.S. state of Ohio, aiming to introduce the all-new vehicle in 2015 under its luxury brand Acura. The automaker will invest around $70 million in the new plant, which will be Honda's fifth U.S. factory.
France Approves Major Labor Reform Package
May 14, 2013 2:26 pm | by Sarah DiLorenzo, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsFrance's parliament has passed a package of significant labor reforms Tuesday that the government hopes will help halt rising unemployment and jumpstart the country's stagnant economy. The bill is one of President Francois Hollande's signature pieces of legislation designed to overhaul the country's notoriously hidebound labor market.
Airbus Parent's Q1 Profits To Nearly Double
May 14, 2013 2:21 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsEuropean aerospace company EADS says strong deliveries by airplane maker Airbus helped drive higher earnings in the first quarter. The Airbus parent company reaffirmed its forecast of lifting commercial aircraft deliveries this year to between 600 and 610, as demand from Middle Eastern and Asian carriers to expand their fleets continues to drive sales for one of Europe's largest exporters.
Nissan Chief Welcomes Yen Fall For Luxury Brand
May 14, 2013 10:17 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsNissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn welcomed the yen's recent decline to what he called "neutral" levels for the Japanese automaker's profitability, but said Tuesday it must drop further to be "normal." "The abnormal situation of the yen is hopefully something of the past," he told reporters at the roll-off ceremony for a new Infiniti luxury model, the Q50.
PwC: Strategies To Enhance Business Opportunities In India
May 14, 2013 8:00 am | by PwC | Articles | CommentsAccording to PwC, India has potential to be the fastest-growing large economy in the world over the next four decades, but businesses find its economic and cultural diversity, complicated policy-making processes and uneven development difficult to navigate.
Natural Gas Export Plans Stir Debate
May 13, 2013 2:28 pm | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsA domestic natural gas boom already has lowered U.S. energy prices while stoking fears of environmental disaster. Now U.S. producers are poised to ship vast quantities of gas overseas as energy companies seek permits for proposed export projects that could set off a renewed frenzy of fracking.
Leaving Bangladesh? Not An Easy Choice For Brands
May 13, 2013 2:18 pm | by Anne D'Innocenzio, Jonathan Fahey, AP Business Writers | News | CommentsBangladesh offers the global garment industry something unique: Millions of workers who quickly churn out huge amounts of well-made underwear, jeans and T-shirts for the lowest wages in the world. But since a building collapse April 24 killed at least 1,100 garment workers in Bangladesh in one of the deadliest industrial tragedies in history, the country has gone from one of the industry's greatest assets to one of its biggest liabilities.
Building Apple's iPhone Doesn't Pay Like It Used To
May 13, 2013 11:52 am | by ReutersTV | Videos | CommentsApple's legendary profit margins may be challenged if the firm releases its long-rumored low-end iPhone later this year. But the ones really feeling the pinch will be its suppliers. Apple does none of its own production and relies on Asia's contract makers - the biggest of the bunch being Foxconn. Foxconn draws an estimated 60 to 70 percent of its business from work commissioned by Apple.
AP: Cars Made In Brazil Are Deadly
May 13, 2013 10:08 am | by Bradley Brooks, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe culprits are the cars themselves, produced with weaker welds, scant safety features and inferior materials compared to similar models manufactured for U.S. and European consumers, say experts and engineers inside the industry. Four of Brazil's five bestselling cars failed their independent crash tests.
Bangladesh To Raise Pay For Garment Workers
May 13, 2013 10:03 am | by Farid Hossain, Associated Press | News | CommentsBangladesh's government plans to raise the minimum wage for garment workers after the deaths of more than 1,100 people in the collapse of a factory building focused attention on the textile industry's dismal pay and hazardous working conditions.
Foreign Automakers Join Tokyo Motor Show
May 13, 2013 10:00 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA total of 18 foreign automakers will participate in the Tokyo Motor Show starting in November, but the "Big Three" U.S. automakers will skip the event, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said. While General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC will be absent from the 43rd annual event for the third consecutive year, 17 European automakers, such as Volkswagen AG and BMW AG of Germany, will participate in the event.
Deal: Dubai Company Plans To Build GA Plant
May 10, 2013 1:57 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsGov. Nathan Deal says a company based in Dubai plans to build a manufacturing plant in Murray County with the goal of creating 200 jobs over the next three years. Deal said Wednesday the expansion planned by Mattex "speaks to the continued revitalization of the floor covering industry in northwest Georgia."
Nissan Profit Up 46 Percent On Strong Sales
May 10, 2013 1:55 pm | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsNissan's fiscal fourth quarter profit jumped 46 percent on stronger sales and a favorable exchange rate that offset declines in China over a bitter territorial dispute. Nissan Motor Co. reported Friday a January-March profit of 110 billion yen ($1.1 billion), up from 75.3 billion yen the same period the previous year. Quarterly sales gained 6 percent to 2.87 trillion yen ($28.7 billion).
Japanese Auto Parts Maker To Add 200 NC Jobs
May 9, 2013 2:11 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA Japanese auto parts manufacturer plans to add more assembly lines and hire another 200 workers at an existing North Carolina factory by the end of 2016. Gov. Pat McCrory's office said Wednesday that ASMO North America's Greenville plant already employs more than 530 people who produce parts for front wipers and for radiator fan motors.
Why Is U.S. Manufacturing Left Out Of The Recovery?
May 9, 2013 12:49 pm | by Bloomberg TV | Videos | CommentsScott Paul, executive director at Alliance For American Manufacturing and Bloomberg political analyst Matt Dowd discuss the current state of manufacturing in the United States. They speak on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance."
Cyberattacks A Growing Irritant In U.S.-China Ties
May 8, 2013 2:27 pm | by Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press | News | CommentsA bill introduced in the Senate on Tuesday would require the president to block imports of products using stolen U.S. technology or made by companies implicated in computer theft. Washington's sudden focus on Chinese hacking comes after rising complaints from U.S. businesses about theft of trade secrets.
China Reports Stronger April Trade Growth
May 8, 2013 2:25 pm | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsChina reported stronger April trade but analysts said export data were inflated and its shaky recovery might be weaker than it looks. Exports rose 14.7 percent over a year earlier, up from March's 10 percent growth, customs data showed Wednesday. Imports gained 16.8 percent, up from the previous month's 14.1 percent.
