Supply Chain & Logistics
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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.
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.
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.
Second Life For Boeing Airplanes
May 16, 2013 8:00 am | by Boeing | Videos | CommentsBoeing has earned a reputation for its commitment to environmental strategies, positioning itself as an industry leader in developing ways to lessen environmental impact. One example of that is through its aircraft recycling program. Take a look at some of the ways Boeing is providing a second life to reclaimed and certified airplane parts and materials.
Boeing Resumes 787 Deliveries After 4-Month Halt
May 15, 2013 2:05 pm | by Joshua Freed, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsBoeing restarted deliveries of 787s on Tuesday after a four-month halt while it dealt with the smoldering batteries that had kept the planes grounded. Boeing handed the plane over to Japan's All Nippon Airways at its factory in Everett, Wash.
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.
General Motors To Sell Van Made By Nissan
May 14, 2013 2:28 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsNissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co. have signed a deal for Nissan to build small commercial vans that GM will sell in the U.S. and Canada, the companies said Tuesday. The vans will be based on the Nissan NV200 and will be sold at Chevrolet dealers starting in the fall of 2014.
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.
By The Numbers
May 10, 2013 3:42 pm | by Anna Wells, Executive Editor, IMPO | Articles | CommentsConveying equipment can’t just keep getting faster – it has to get smarter as well. Learn how market conditions, design elements, and maintenance issues work together to create positive trends in the conveyor industry.
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.
Ferrari To Sell Fewer Cars To Boost Exclusivity
May 8, 2013 10:12 am | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsFerrari says it will limit sales of its high-performance street cars this year to below 7,000 units to protect the brand's aura of exclusivity. Chairman Luca Montezemolo says that means sales will decline overall by "more than 1 or 2 percent" from last year's sales of 7,318 cars. Sales in the first four months have risen 4 percent over last year.
Is The United States Ready To Take Manufacturing Back?
May 8, 2013 8:05 am | by Patrick Van den Bossche, Pramod Gupta, Hector Gutierrez, Chui Lee — A.T. Kearney | Articles | CommentsWord on the street is that substantial portions of previously offshored manufacturing operations are due to return to the United States. A number of macroeconomic factors seem to have tipped the balance in favor of domestic manufacturing.
Q&A: Barriers To American Re-shoring
May 7, 2013 8:05 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | Articles | CommentsOver the last few years, there has been an increasing amount of buzz around the concept of “re-shoring,” in which an American company decides it’s more financially viable to bring manufacturing operations back to the U.S. from a foreign land. Generally speaking, company leaders are finding that the “total cost” of producing overseas actually makes outsourcing the worse financial picture.
HK Dockworkers Accept Offer, End 40-Day Strike
May 6, 2013 2:19 pm | by Kelvin Chan, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsHong Kong dockworkers have accepted a 9.8 percent pay increase, ending a 40-day strike that slowed traffic at one of the world's busiest ports. About 90 percent of the workers voted late Monday in favor of the offer from four middleman contractors that provide staff to a container terminal operator controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing.
China City Quashes Protest Against Petro Plant
May 6, 2013 10:28 am | by Didi Tang, Associated Press | News | CommentsResidents say they are worried the plant would pollute the air and water, and question why the plant is being built in a region prone to earthquakes. Pengzhou is in the same fault zone as the 2008 Wenchuan quake that left 90,000 people dead or missing, and for an earthquake last month that killed at least 196 people.
ALCOA Expanding TN Plant For Auto Making Needs
May 3, 2013 5:08 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsALCOA says resurgent auto manufacturing is creating demand for its aluminum products and it will expand its plant in Tennessee. The Daily Times first reported the company will create 200 new jobs with a $275 million expansion of its rolling mill in Alcoa, Tenn. Some 400 construction jobs will be created in building it.
Steel Firm To Add Jobs To Supply CAT Plant
May 2, 2013 2:08 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsA steel fabricator plans to add more than 150 jobs over the next three years at its Dawson County plant, company executives said, to supply parts for a new Caterpillar production facility near Athens. The Times of Gainesville reported that Impulse Manufacturing will produce parts for several small excavators that will be produced at the new Caterpillar plant.
Quincy Compressor Acquires Four National Pump & Compressor Midwest Branches
May 2, 2013 12:40 pm | by Quincy Compressor | News | CommentsQuincy Compressor has acquired the assets of four National Pump & Compressor’s (NPC) branches in the state of Illinois. Formerly operating as Cochrane Compressor and acquired by NPC in 2009, the acquired company has been a Quincy distributor for more than 60 years.
Brazil's Embraer Inks 30-Jet Deal With United
April 30, 2013 1:39 pm | by The Associated Press | News | CommentsBrazilian plane maker Embraer says it's signed a firm order with United Airlines for 30 regional jets. With the option for United to buy an additional 40 jets, Embraer says the deal could eventually be worth nearly $4 billion. The first planes are to be delivered in the first quarter of 2014.
Goodyear, Union Begin Contract Talks For 6 Plants
April 29, 2013 2:24 pm | by Thomas J. Sheeran, Associated Press | News | CommentsWith the backdrop of an uncertain economy, shrinking unions and company cost-cutting, Goodyear and the Steelworkers are negotiating on a new national contract covering 8,000 tire workers at six plants. The first round of talks in Cincinnati ended Thursday and recessed.
Entrematic Strengthens N. America Offering With 4Front Acquisition
April 26, 2013 5:01 pm | News | CommentsEntrematic’s presence in North America is strengthened by its most recent acquisition of4Front, the U.S.-based loading dock and warehouse products company with its industry-leading brands, including Kelley and Serco. By combining long established brands under one umbrella, Entrematic now boasts one of the world’s most complete ranges of entrance automation products, supported by dedicated specialists with extensive experience.
