‘Manufacturing’s Winner & Loser’ are being presented a little early this week. However, after careful consideration of the news up until now, the winner and loser of the week are as follows:
Winner
This Monday, Volvo confirmed that they will be opening a new manufacturing facility in the U.S. in a decisive move to be known as a “global manufacturer.” For this reason, Volvo has been dubbed ‘Manufacturing’s Winner of the Week.’
Currently, Volvo has operations in Europe and China, however in an effort to double sales in the U.S., they have announced the new U.S. facility. The location is still unknown, though Volvo said they have drawn up a short list of potential locations. And based upon company officials meetings with lawmakers, it would be safe to assume that South Carolina, North Carolina and Kentucky will be on the list.
“Volvo Cars cannot claim to be a true global carmaker without an industrial presence in the U.S. Today, we became that,” said Volvo chief Hakan Samuelsson. “The U.S. is an absolutely crucial part of our global transformation,”
Loser
This week ‘Manufacturing’s Loser of the Week’ goes to two companies, Kraft and Mondelez, after federal charges were announced against both for wheat price rigging.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission claim that the companies engaged in a scheme to manipulate and artificially lower wheat prices that earned over $5.4 million in profits. The CFTC also accused the companies of violating rules limiting the volume of futures contracts in wheat, while also violating rules of competition.
Regardless of the charges, in a statement released by Kraft, the company made it clear that they do not expect to bear significant financial burden. Instead, it is expected that Mondelez will shoulder most of the costs. In a statement released by Mondelez the company said it predicts "to predominantly bear any monetary penalties or other payments that the CFTC may impose."
As of now, the extent of the penalties are unknown.
