TEMPE, AZ—The monthly Institute for Supply Management’s PMI Index jumped to 60.7 percent in December, marking an eight-month streak of recovery after collapsing in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
WASHINGTON—New orders for U.S.-made goods increased solidly in September, but further gains could be limited amid an anticipated slowdown in consumer spending as government money for businesses and workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic runs out.
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN—A manufacturing program at Purdue University recently announced nearly $18 million in federal funding to expand its work with Indiana businesses.
AUSTIN, TX—Epicor Software Corp. says its 2020 Global Growth Index report shows that companies across the globe are embracing technologies to offset the impacts of global volatility, such as COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions.
CITY OF INDUSTRY, CA — Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co., the industry’s largest manufacturer of refrigerated trailers, recently announced that the company broke its all-time record for trailer production in 2019.
SEDGEFIELD, UK — Filtronic, a designer and manufacturer of antennas, filters and millimeter wave products recently announced that it has invested $1.3 million in new equipment for its manufacturing facility here.
In September, Toyota announced that it will invest $391 million in its truck assembly plant in San Antonio. Hyundai announced that it is investing nearly $300 million in its factory in Montgomery, AL. Brake manufacturer Bendix Spicer began construction on a $65 million expansion of its assembly plant Bowling Green, KY. And, automotive supplier Hirotec Group said it will invest $48 million to build a new assembly plant in Fayetteville, TN.
CHICAGO—Eight out of 10 U.S. manufacturers expect to grow sales this year, buoyed by their optimism about the strength of regional, national and global economies, according to the 2019 National Manufacturing Survey Report prepared by Leading Edge Alliance, a global association of 220 accounting and consulting firms.
The past year brought blockbuster headlines for U.S. manufacturing. Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn unveiled plans to build a $10 billion assembly plant in Wisconsin that would make liquid-crystal display panels and employ as many as 13,000 people.