NEW YORK—The domestic economic outlook among U.S. manufacturers is at its highest level in five quarters, according to the PWC Manufacturing Barometer survey. The majority of manufacturing executives surveyed expect revenue growth in 2013.
ROANOKE, IN—GM has added more than 400 hourly and salaried workers at its assembly plant here to help with production of the company’s revamped full-size trucks.
SEOUL, South Korea—Hyundai Motor Co. has filed a police complaint against 13 labor activists it says led a violent clash at its biggest assembly plant that caused $2 million in damage and left approximately 100 people injured.
SALT LAKE CITY—Researchers at Brigham Young University have developed a new technology for creating an extremely strong bond between lightweight aluminum and ultra-high-strength steel. The technology, friction bit joining, could be a boon to automakers looking to reduce vehicle weight.
SMYRNA, TN—A good, old-fashioned price war may be just what’s needed to give a jolt to the electric vehicle market in North America. Nissan, Ford and GM have each lowered the price of their electric vehicles by thousands of dollars, spurring increases in production.
WASHINGTON—Panasonic Corp. agreed to plead guilty to price-fixing allegations involving automotive parts sold to Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Nissan, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday. Panasonic will pay a $45.8 million criminal fine.
ATKINS, VA—In the depths of the recession, TRW’s assembly plant employed just 20 people. Today, the facility employs 350 people and plans to ship 1.4 million steering units this year.
STERLING HEIGHTS, MI—Chrysler’s Sterling Heights assembly plant is a facility “with nine lives.” Targeted for closure during the automaker’s government-backed bankruptcy in 2009, the facility is actually growing. When a new paint shop goes online early next year, the plant will become the most high-tech shop in Chrysler’s portfolio.
AUBURN, AL—Auto supplier Donghee America Inc. plans to invest $48 million to open a 117,000-square-foot assembly plant here, creating 80 jobs.The facility will produce fuel tanks.
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