Global Manufacturing
The Lead
Toyota Raises Sales Target To 9.76M Cars
August 3, 2012 9:25 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | Comments
Toyota's quarterly sales soared nearly 60 percent to $70.5 billion, showing how strongly the company has recovered from last year's earthquake.
U.S.: Pakistan Moves To Curb Dangerous Fertilizers
May 20, 2013 10:43 am | by Rebecca Santana, Associated Press | News | CommentsA top American military officer says Pakistan has taken steps to prevent fertilizers made in Pakistan from being used for roadside bombs targeting American troops in Afghanistan. Brig. Gen. Robert P. Walters Jr. spoke Monday in Islamabad on ways to counter the bombs often referred to as improvised explosive devices.
At Least 12 Dead In China Factory Explosion
May 20, 2013 8:10 am | News | CommentsThe force of the blast flung broken glass, smashed concrete, and other debris as far as 200 meters (600 feet), reports said. Walls in outlying buildings were flattened and glass shattered. A total of 34 people were inside the factory at the time of the blast, and survivors were rushed to hospital. The cause of the blast and condition of those injured were not immediately known.
4-month Strike At Peugeot Citroen Plant Ends
May 17, 2013 11:27 am | News | CommentsA four-month strike at a car factory north of Paris has come to an end, although the workers say they will still fight a plan to close the plant. PSA Peugeot Citroen said Friday that it had signed an agreement with the CGT union to end the strike, which started in January. The CGT called the strike "suspended."
Labor Group: Apple Making Progress At Foxconn
May 17, 2013 7:44 am | News | CommentsThe Fair Labor Association said Thursday that Apple's largest supplier, Foxconn, has made all recommended improvements to working conditions that were due by the end of December. The group says there have been "notable increases" in workers' participation in union committees.
China: Cadillac Recalling SUVs To Fix Wheel Nuts
May 17, 2013 7:38 am | News | CommentsChina's product safety agency says General Motors Co.'s main Chinese joint venture is recalling Cadillac SUVs to correct a problem with nuts that hold their wheels in place. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said Friday that Shanghai GM will recall 2,653 imported Cadillac SRXs.
European Car Sales Up For First Time Since 2011
May 17, 2013 7:36 am | by Colleen Barry, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsNew car registrations in April were up 1.7 percent on the same time last year, the ACEA's latest figures show. Although the April rise has more to do with the two extra work days last month due to an early Easter, sales figures for the year so far gave some cause for hope.
Robots To Help Brazil Provide World Cup Security
May 16, 2013 12:33 pm | by Tales Azzoni, AP Sports Writer | News | CommentsThe Brazilian government has bought 30 security robots to improve public safety during the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics. The government paid nearly $3.5 million for the small unmanned ground vehicles which can provide surveillance, bomb removal and other law-enforcement missions.
Protesters Picket Barbie-Themed House In Berlin
May 16, 2013 12:30 pm | News | CommentsFeminist protesters burned a doll on a cross and left-wing demonstrators shouted "pink stinks" at the Berlin opening of a life-sized Barbie house Thursday. They far outnumbered Barbie fans who came to see the Mattel Inc. toy's fictional Malibu home.
Cambodian Shoe Factory Collapse Kills 2
May 16, 2013 8:12 am | by Sopheng Cheang, Associated Press | News | CommentsAbout 50 workers were inside the factory south of Phnom Penh, the capital, when the ceiling caved in, said police officer Khem Pannara. He said heavy iron equipment stored on the floor above appeared to have caused the collapse. Two bodies were pulled from the wreckage and seven people were injured, he said.
EU: China May Be Dumping Mobile Network Equipment
May 15, 2013 2:05 pm | News | CommentsA senior EU official says China may be illegally dumping and subsidizing the import into Europe of mobile telephone networks and their essential elements.The Commission said China's export of telecommunication network equipment to the EU market amounts to 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) per year.
Eurozone's Struggling Economies Mired In Recession
May 15, 2013 1:51 pm | News | CommentsThe eurozone is stuck in recession — its longest since the euro was founded in 1999. The latest figures from the European Union's statistics office show that the economy of the 17 EU countries that use the euro shrank for a sixth straight quarter, slumping by 0.2 percent in the January-March period.
Students In Ghana Launch Mini-Satellite
May 15, 2013 1:42 pm | by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Associated Press | News | CommentsTheir project might not sound like much: The college students on Wednesday launched a tiny model of a satellite the size of a Coke can on a big yellow balloon. It went aloft to a height of 165 meters (yards) and then came back down on a red parachute.
Woman: China Police Ask To Ax White House Petition
May 15, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsPolice in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, have declined to comment. But B.Y.'s petition problem last week highlights how prickly Chinese authorities are about Internet dissent, perhaps especially when it involves the United States.
France Approves Major Labor Reform Package
May 14, 2013 1:31 pm | by Sarah DiLorenzo, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsThe bill is one of President Francois Hollande's signature pieces of legislation designed to overhaul the country's notoriously hidebound labor market. It includes measures such as making it easier for workers to change jobs and for companies to fire employees.
EU Probes Oil Companies For Possible Price-Fixing
May 14, 2013 1:25 pm | News | CommentsEuropean anti-trust authorities have launched investigations into at least three oil companies on suspicion of price-fixing. Britain's BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Norway's Statoil confirmed they are subject to the inquiry announced Tuesday by the European Union's executive arm, the Commission.
Nissan Chief Welcomes Yen Fall For Luxury Brand
May 14, 2013 8:08 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsJapanese automakers have been trying to move production to where their vehicles are sold to reduce risks from a strong yen, which lowers the value of their overseas earnings. But the yen has lost more than 20 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in recent months.
Survey: Global Manufacturers Lack Supply Chain Visibility Beyond Tier 1
May 13, 2013 10:18 am | by KPMG | News | CommentsGlobal manufacturers are putting their supply chains at the center of their business strategies to serve as the foundation for operational efficiency and collaborative innovation. Ironically though, many manufacturing executives admit that their companies currently do not have visibility of their supply chain beyond Tier 1 suppliers.
France Mulls Culture Tax On Smartphones
May 13, 2013 10:07 am | News | CommentsThe French government is considering creating a new tax on smartphones and tablets in a bid to raise millions to support the creation of digital cultural content inside France. The proposal, handed to President Francois Hollande Monday, outlines a 1 percent tax on the sale of Internet-compatible devices.
AP: Cars Made In Brazil Are Deadly
May 13, 2013 8:01 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.
Leaving Bangladesh? Not An Easy Choice For Brands
May 13, 2013 7:58 am | by Anne D'Innocenzio and Jonathan Fahey, AP Business Writers | News | CommentsThe rising death toll may force Western brands to make a choice: Stay and work to improve conditions. Or leave and face higher costs, similar or worse worker conditions in other low-wage countries and criticism for abandoning a poor nation where per-capita income is just $1,940 per year.
U.S. Sanctions Taiwan Firm For N.Korea Dealings
May 10, 2013 2:13 pm | News | CommentsThe Treasury Department announced designation Friday of Trans Multi Mechanics Co. Ltd. and Chang Wen-Fu for links to a Taiwanese man, Alex Tsai, arrested in Estonia last week. Tsai and his son, a U.S. resident, were charged in Chicago with seeking to bypass a ban on export of weapons machinery.
Worker Rescued After 17 Days In Bangladesh Rubble
May 10, 2013 1:37 pm | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press | News | CommentsFor 17 days, the seamstress lay trapped in a dark basement pocket beneath thousands of tons of wreckage as temperatures outside climbed into the mid-90s F. She rationed food and water. She banged a pipe to attract attention. She was fast losing hope of ever making it out alive.
Bangladesh Fire Kills 8 As Collapse Toll Hits 948
May 9, 2013 8:01 am | by Julhas Alam, Associated Press | News | CommentsA fire in an 11-story garment factory in Bangladesh killed eight people, including a ruling-party politician and a top official in the country's powerful clothing manufacturers' trade group, as the death toll from the collapse of another garment factory building passed 900 on Thursday.
Deal: Dubai Company To Build Ga. Plant
May 8, 2013 1:54 pm | 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. Mattex is headquartered in Dubai and is a leading provider of carpet backings and other textiles. The company has four facilities in the Middle East and plans to invest $60 million in its first U.S. plant.
Germany Plans Tighter Control Of Managers' Pay
May 8, 2013 8:38 am | News | CommentsThe plan, approved Wednesday by Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet, foresees obligatory, binding votes at publicly listed companies' annual general meetings on the pay system and levels for managers. Those decisions are currently taken by German companies' boards of directors and shareholder votes are voluntary and nonbinding.
