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.
China, Switzerland To Seal Free Trade Deal
May 24, 2013 10:48 am | News | CommentsChinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Switzerland to sign a free trade pact with the Alpine nation — the first comprehensive agreement the country has reached with a major western economy. Li met with Swiss officials Friday in Bern, where he is due to ink the deal after three years of talks.
France Won't Force Companies To Cap Executive Pay
May 24, 2013 9:34 am | by Sarah DiLorenzo, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsFinance Minister Pierre Moscovici announced Friday that the government no longer plans to push for a law to cap executive salaries in the private sector. Instead, Moscovici told reporters that he was in discussions with business leaders and he hoped companies would agree to institute their own limits. He did not give details.
Stricken Japan Nuke Plant Struggles To Keep Staff
May 24, 2013 8:28 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsKeeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it.
MAPI: 1Q U.S. Trade In Manufactures Stays Flat
May 23, 2013 9:01 pm | News | CommentsFor calendar year 2013, Chinese manufactured exports are on track to nearly double U.S. exports, with a surplus of more than $900 billion, compared with a U.S. deficit of $500 billion, as the trade gap between these global powers continues to expand, according to a report from the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI).
Dutch Arrest Meat Works Owner In Horse Meat Probe
May 23, 2013 10:15 am | by Mike Corder, Associated Press | News | CommentsInvestigators from the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority arrested the man on suspicion of fraud and detained him for further questioning. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of six year's imprisonment, according to prosecutors.
Made In The USA Back In Style For Small Businesses
May 23, 2013 8:04 am | by Joyce M. Rosenberg, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsReverie is one of a growing number of small businesses that are chipping away at the decades-old trend of manufacturing overseas. They're doing what's known as reshoring, moving production back to U.S. factories as labor costs grow in countries like China and India and shipping also becomes more expensive.
Building Materials Blamed In Bangladesh Disaster
May 23, 2013 7:59 am | by Farid Hossain, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe defects and errors that led to the world's deadliest garment-industry accident extend from the swampy ground the doomed Rana Plaza was built on, to "extremely poor quality" construction materials, to the massive, vibrating equipment operating when the eight-story building collapsed.
Survey Shows China Manufacturing Contracting
May 23, 2013 12:42 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsA survey shows China's manufacturing contracted this month, adding to signs a fragile recovery in the world's No. 2 economy is slowing. HSBC Corp. said Thursday the preliminary version of its monthly purchasing managers index fell to a seven-month low of 49.6 from April's 50.4 on a 100-point scale. Numbers below 50 show a contraction.
Ford To End Auto Production In Australia
May 22, 2013 10:03 pm | by Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe closure of the U.S. automaker's plants in the state of Victoria will mean the loss of 1,200 jobs and will transform the company into an import-only brand in Australia. Ford began making cars in Australia in 1925 and is the third largest auto manufacturer in the country.
Italy Seizes $1.5B From Steel Family
May 22, 2013 2:05 pm | News | CommentsProsecutors allege in the order Wednesday that the real estate, stocks and other financial assets belonging to the Riva family were obtained through the misuse of funds belonging to the Ilva steel plant. Brothers Emilio and Adriano Riva, founders of the company that owns the plant, are currently under investigation for fraud.
Japan Watchdog: Nuke Plant Sits On Active Fault
May 22, 2013 10:13 am | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsIt was the first time Japanese regulators had officially recognized an active fault underneath an existing reactor, virtually acknowledging that the risk at Tsuruga had been overlooked for decades by both the operator and regulators despite warnings by some experts.
Fiat Industrial Considers Making Tax Home In UK
May 22, 2013 10:09 am | News | CommentsFiat Industrial is considering moving its tax home to Britain after it completes the merger with its U.S.-based subsidiary CNH. The possible move by the maker of heavy trucks, farm and construction vehicles would be a blow to the new Italian government of Enrico Letta, which is struggling to put public finances in order.
Japanese Execs Face Prison For Price Fixing
May 22, 2013 8:19 am | News | CommentsTwo executives at Japanese auto supplier Denso Corp. are facing more than a year in U.S. federal prison for fixing prices on auto parts. Yuji Suzuki and Hiroshi Watanabe have pleaded guilty to charges that they fixed prices and allocated bids for electronic control units and heater control panels that were sold to Toyota Motor Corp. in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Cuba Lifts Ban On Energy-Hogging Appliances
May 22, 2013 8:09 am | by Anne-Marie Garcia, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe change could strain even further the already-overstuffed cargo holds of flights from places like Miami, Ecuador and Panama to Havana. Cuba-bound travelers who routinely check bulky bundles and multiple plasma-screen TVs will now start thinking about things like air conditioners, chest freezers, microwaves and ovens.
Ex-Ford Execs Charged In Argentine Torture Cases
May 22, 2013 7:49 am | by Michael Warren, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe 150-page indictment written by Judge Alicia Vence reads like a history lesson, going to considerable lengths to explain why their actions constitute crimes against humanity and why it has taken nearly four decades to result in criminal charges.
Germany's SAP To Recruit Tech Staff With Autism
May 21, 2013 1:37 pm | News | CommentsGerman software giant SAP AG said Tuesday it plans to recruit people with autism to take make full use of their talents to process information. Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties in communicating, emotional detachment and rigid or repetitive behavior.
France: Drug Company On Trial, Suspected In Deaths
May 21, 2013 12:28 pm | News | CommentsA French drug company and its founder are on trial on charges of misleading the public about a diabetes drug marketed as a weight loss method and suspected in hundreds of deaths. But after years of delays in one of France's biggest recent health scandals, the proceedings could still be pushed back further.
Hershey Tapping Into 'Milk Candy' Market In China
May 21, 2013 12:19 pm | News | CommentsThe new product marks Hershey's latest push to expand its presence in China, where the potential for sales growth is far greater than in developed countries such as the U.S. But the company has plenty of catching up to do with just 2.2 percent of the country's chocolate market, according to Euromonitor International.
Chinese Rice Contaminated With Cadmium
May 21, 2013 8:22 am | News | CommentsAn official notice Tuesday said mills in Hunan province's Youxian county were ordered to suspend business and recall their products after samples showed excessive cadmium levels. It said the mills had been operating legally and sourced their rice from local farmers.
Feds: NYU Researchers Took Bribes From Chinese Co.
May 21, 2013 8:20 am | News | CommentsThe researchers' work involves MRI technology. It's funded by the National Institutes of Health. They're accused of providing nonpublic information about the technology to a medical company in China and a research institution supported by the Chinese government.
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.
