TEMPE, AZ-Despite the slow overall recovery, the factory jobs picture in February was as strong as it’s been in any month since 1973. The Institute for Supply Management said 56 percent of factories were keeping employment level, and 35 percent added people to their staffs in February. Those kinds of readings have not been seen in 38 years. MORE
FLEMINGTON, NJ-Magna-Power Electronics, a manufacturer of high-power programmable DC power supplies, broke ground on a 29,000 square-foot expansion of its assembly plant here. MORE
TONAWANDA, NY-Parts shortages resulting from the aftermath of the natural disaster in Japan have forced GM to temporarily halt production at its engine plant in Tonawanda, NY, and its truck plant in Shreveport, LA. MORE
NEW RIVER VALLEY, VA-Volvo Trucks North America and the UAW reached a tentative Friday on a new five-year contract covering some 1,300 workers at the company’s assembly plant here. MORE
CHICAGO-Robotics supplier Robotiq is introducing a dexterous gripper that gives robots “hand-like” capabilities to manipulate a wide variety of parts, detect a grip and control pressure on a given part. MORE
WARRENVILLE, IL-Navistar International will decide by the summer whether to restart an idled assembly plant in Ontario, Canada. Industrywide, production of heavy-duty trucks is expected to increase by 58 percent this year. MORE