DEARBORN HEIGHTS, MI—The Armored Group has opened a new state-of-the-art assembly plant here.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing the BMW assembly plant in Spartanburg, SC, over its use of criminal background checks to screen out job applicants or fire employees. The agency says the policy discriminates against African Americans.

SMYRNA, TN—Nissan is hiring production associates for its assembly plant here.

SHAKOPEE, MN— Rosemount Inc., a manufacturer of pressure, temperature and other measurement instruments, is turning a vacant building here into a new engineering and assembly facility.

DETROIT—From January through May, automakers and parts companies hired 8,000 workers, a relatively slow rate. But the pace is picking up. The Center for Automotive Research expects the industry to add 35,000 jobs over the full year.

MUSCLE SHOALS, TN—CBC America will build a $24 million assembly plant here to make automotive lighting. The company plans to employ 125 workers.

MILTON, PA—ACF Industries has reopened its rail car assembly plant here, initially hiring 230 employees.

MILWAUKEE—U.S. employers reported a boost in confidence as the percent of employers planning to add staff, 22 percent, has reached a four-year high, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

WASHINGTON—For 2013 as a whole, manufacturing production should increase 3.1 percent from 2012, according to the Manufacturing Alliance for Productivity and Innovation. Manufacturing is predicted to grow 3.6 percent in 2014, 0.8 percentage points faster than the overall economy.

ANDREWS, SC—Aerospace supplier Davis Aircraft Products expects to hire 100 people to work at its new $5.5 million assembly plant here when it opens next spring.