By Amy Radishofski, Features Editor, Manufacturing.net

 

The manufacturing industry saw a very bleak year in 2009, but there are signs that companies are feeling more optimistic about an economic recovery.

Amid pressure from customers to get the plane airborne, Airbus hit a milestone in its long-delayed A400M military airlifter program, testing all four turboprop engines together.

Head of the Nissan-Renault alliance said customers' adoption of electric vehicles will be slow, with traditional gasoline-powered cars continuing to dominate for many years.

Unusually cold weather has caused shortfalls of power and natural gas in Shanghai and parts of central China, local government reports said.

Deal may be near to turn a shuttered Sterling Truck plant in St. Thomas, Ont., into a manufacturer of green energy products.

European Union urged U.S. and China to deliver greenhouse gas emissions target, saying their delays were hindering global efforts to curb climate change.

Majority of Americans recognize need to help the environment, although there are some things, like buying a hybrid car, that people often talk about, but don't act on.

European Union report said Monday that close to 45 percent of all unemployment spells last longer than a year, compared with only about 10 percent in the United States.

German government warned EU against offering financial aid to GM Europe in exchange for job guarantees, hours ahead of a meeting to discuss the future of Opel.

August manufacturing technology consumption was down 14.8 percent from July and down 63.3 percent from August 2008, according to two industry trade groups.

Russian automaker GAZ likely to use what it gets from GM's sale of Opel to compete against the Detroit automaker's Chevrolet brand in Russia.

Federal government found 'strong association' between problematic Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, supporting complaints by thousands of homeowners.

P&G is recalling some 120,000 bottles of Vicks Sinex nasal spray after the company found bacteria in some samples during routine testing.

Newly reopened Niagara Falls manufacturing plant will use hydropower to make products for the solar industry.

Startup company with plans to build high-tech police cars in eastern Indiana says it's confident despite new competition from established automakers.

Nestle, which sells nearly all the canned pumpkin in the U.S., says poor weather hurt its harvest, creating a potential shortage of its Libby's pumpkin pie products.

Michigan-based Kellogg says it temporarily halted production of its Eggo brand frozen waffles in September at its plant in Atlanta, Georgia because of flooding there.