manufacturing – News Stories About manufacturing - Page 4

Oct 21, 2008 8:46 AM CDT

Kerkorian Pulls Out of Ford

Biggest non-family stockowner begins dumping stake, looks to energy instead

(Newser) - Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, an old hand at investing in Detroit, began his Ford escape today, selling 7.3 million shares of common stock in the company at $2.43 per share, the Wall Street Journal reports. As recently as February Kerkorian was building his stake in the embattled automaker,...

Dow Reels on Economic Fears

MARKETS

Oct 2, 2008 3:43 PM CDT

Dow Reels on Economic Fears

Bailout progress fails to inspire confidence in equities

(Newser) - Stocks fell sharply today as political progress on the bailout failed to encourage traders who were absorbing poor jobs and manufacturing data, MarketWatch reports. The Dow lost 348.22 and closed at 10,482.85, the Nasdaq shed 92.68 to 1,976.72, and the S&P 500 fell...

Fired Workers Kill Boss in India

Sep 23, 2008 4:17 PM CDT

Fired Workers Kill Boss in India

Workers, invited to negotiate, beat Indian chief of Italian manufacturing firm to death

(Newser) - An angry mob of laid-off workers killed their former boss at an Italian manufacturing firm in India yesterday, the Independent reports. Lalit Kishore Choudhary, who oversaw Oerlikon Graziano’s auto-parts business in India, was bludgeoned to death with iron bars as he tried to negotiate with the disgruntled former employees....

Farms Fuel Boom in US Exports

Aug 18, 2008 9:21 AM CDT

Farms Fuel Boom in US Exports

Strengthening dollar could trim growth of sales abroad

(Newser) - Worldwide demand for grain and a weak US dollar helped drive exports up 7.1% in the first half of the year, providing a respite from the barrage of negative economic news. But experts warn the commodity-driven rise could be brief, reports the New York Times. Export surges of agricultural...

China Set to Surpass US
as Largest Manufacturer

Aug 11, 2008 1:32 PM CDT

China Set to Surpass US as Largest Manufacturer

Second place awaits after 100 years on top

(Newser) - China will surpass the US as the world’s No. 1 manufacturer by next year, the Financial Times reports. China, which last year accounted for 13.2% of manufacturing, will soon account for 17%, just ahead of the US, which has been the planet's dominant manufacturer for more than a...

Oil Costs Crimp
Globalization

Aug 3, 2008 5:03 AM CDT

Oil Costs Crimp Globalization

Biz 'goes local' to save transportation costs

(Newser) - The soaring cost of oil is taking a toll on globalization, pushing companies to save on transportation by producing materials closer to home, the New York Times reports. The search for cheap production had been key for many firms—but now oil prices, as well as stricter import rules and...

Feds Push to Ease Workplace Toxin Regs

Jul 23, 2008 1:43 PM CDT

Feds Push to Ease Workplace Toxin Regs

Labor Dept. seeks to loosen oversight; union decries 'midnight' move

(Newser) - The Department of Labor is rushing to push through policy that would make it more difficult to regulate workers’ exposure to toxins, the Washington Post reports. The proposal was never publicly disclosed, as required by law, but rather surfaced on the website of the White House Office of Management and...

Sorry, Veterans, Vietnam Is Profitable Now

OPINION

Jul 9, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

Sorry, Veterans, Vietnam Is Profitable Now

American companies move to Hanoi, reap benefits of communism

(Newser) - More expensive Chinese labor has American enterprises heading to Vietnam, moving Harold Meyerson to wonder, in the Washington Post, why 58,000 US soldiers died trying to defend democracy there. "American business, backed by the American government, has realized that the problem with communism wasn't that it was undemocratic...

US Companies Set Up Shop
in Vietnam

Jun 18, 2008 9:53 AM CDT

US Companies Set Up Shop in Vietnam

As labor costs in China soar, manufacturers are moving on

(Newser) - Foreign manufacturers invested $83 billion in China last year, keeping it at the top of the list of overseas producers. But a confluence of circumstances—high inflation, changing government policies, and, above all, rising wages—have led corporations to start looking elsewhere in Asia, the New York Times reports....

Oil Price Spike
Brings Jobs Back to US

Jun 13, 2008 11:30 AM CDT

Oil Price Spike Brings Jobs Back to US

Rising costs curb manufacturers' outsourcing

(Newser) - As costs for overseas production and shipping soar, US companies are growing reluctant to outsource manufacturing—and some are even bringing their plants back to America, the Wall Street Journal reports. “In a world of triple-digit oil prices, distance costs money," said an economist. But it’s not...

Health Care Costs to US Manufacturers Skyrocket

May 7, 2008 12:50 PM CDT

Health Care Costs to US Manufacturers Skyrocket

US employers pay double the price foreign companies do

(Newser) - The cost of providing health insurance to US workers is rising so fast it can't be passed along either to workers or customers, a new study reported in the Los Angeles Times finds. Manufacturers now spend, on average, $2.38 per worker per hour—more than twice as much as...

'Change' Falls Flat
With Hoosiers

Apr 24, 2008 2:13 PM CDT

'Change' Falls Flat With Hoosiers

Voters clinging to 'traditional values' could require Democrats to tweak approach

(Newser) - Despite the ubiquitous use of “change” as a rallying cry in the Democratic primaries, the New York Times notes, the candidates might want to reconsider using it ahead of Indiana's May 6 primary. Although they’re dissatisfied with the economic toll taken by the decline in manufacturing, voters generally...

Manufacturing's Unemployed Find Work at the Hospital

Apr 15, 2008 2:41 PM CDT

Manufacturing's Unemployed Find Work at the Hospital

The healthcare sector's growth could help mitigate US slowdown

(Newser) - American communities once reliant on the manufacturing industry are increasingly being supported by the growing healthcare sector, the Wall Street Journal reports. Over the past 10 years, the former paper-mill town of Bangor, Maine, lost 3,700 factory jobs—but gained 3,500 healthcare jobs, a hopeful sign for an...

Boeing Moves
to Speed 787 Production

Mar 29, 2008 1:12 PM CDT

Boeing Moves to Speed 787 Production

Buys pre-assembly plant that caused serious delays

(Newser) - Seeking to stem mounting delays in the production of its breakthrough 787 jetliner, Boeing is getting more involved in the early steps of the assembly process, the Chicago Tribune reports. Boeing said yesterday it will buy out a partner's share of a South Carolina plant that assembles two rear sections...

Durable Goods, New Homes Take Hit in February

Mar 26, 2008 11:21 AM CDT

Durable Goods, New Homes Take Hit in February

Orders for business equipment key larger-than-expected drop

(Newser) - Durable goods took an unexpected tumble in February, the Commerce Department announced today, with a 1.7% drop headlining a raft of bad economic news. Analysts expected a 0.8% increase. “Businesses definitely have shown they are beginning to retrench,” one analyst told Bloomberg. “Demand is weakening....

Chrysler Will Shut Down
for 2 Weeks

Mar 13, 2008 1:32 PM CDT

Chrysler Will Shut Down for 2 Weeks

Forced July vacation part of automaker's revamping effort

(Newser) - Chrysler plans to shut down all operations for two weeks in July to save money and “accelerate Chrysler's recovery and transformation,” CEO Robert Nardelli writes in a company memo. Employees will take a forced break July 7-20 “in order to create better alignment and efficiency across organizational...

US Sees Worst Decline
in Jobs Since 2003

Mar 7, 2008 7:58 AM CST

US Sees Worst Decline in Jobs Since 2003

Payrolls dropped by 63,000; recession fears intensify

(Newser) - The US lost 63,000 jobs in February, the second straight month payrolls contracted and the worst drop since 2003, catching economists off guard and fanning fears of recession anew, Bloomberg reports. Economists hoped the economy would add 23,000 jobs after declining a modest 17,000 in January, when...

Clinton Shifts to Keystone State

Mar 5, 2008 2:57 PM CST

Clinton Shifts to Keystone State

With Pennsylvania voting not until April 22, pro-Hillary governor noting Ohio parallels

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton staffers are breaking out the champagne today (actually, they were already serving reporters mimosas yesterday), but they’re still sober enough to look seven weeks ahead, to Pennsylvania's April 22 primary. Keystone State Gov. Ed Rendell is a major Hillary booster, and put out a memo this morning...

Stunned Boeing Presses USAF to Explain Choice

Mar 4, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Stunned Boeing Presses USAF to Explain Choice

Scheduled debriefing not soon enough for jilted company

(Newser) - Boeing is calling for an “immediate debriefing” on the Air Force's choice of a foreign company to build its fuel tankers, Bloomberg reports. The selection of Airbus and Northrop Grumman is to be the subject of a scheduled March 12 meeting, but Boeing says that isn’t protocol. “...

Construction Spending Tumbles

Mar 3, 2008 10:23 AM CST

Construction Spending Tumbles

Spending falls at fastest rate since 1994

(Newser) - Construction spending fell at its fastest rate in 14 years in January, the Commerce Department announced today, shattering expectations with a 1.7% drop. Analysts had expected just a 0.7% decline, the Wall Street Journal reports. Residential spending was the big drag, falling 2.9%, but non-residential spending was...