WASHINGTON—Productivity, the amount of output per hour worked, increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the April-June quarter after declining at a 0.5 percent pace in the first quarter of the year. Labor costs rose at an annual rate of 1.5 percent.
FREMONT, CA—Seagate Technology has offered $90.3 million to buy Solyndra’s cavernous solar-panel assembly plant here. Solyndra declared bankruptcy and closed the plant last year.
ODENSE, Denmark—Danish company Universal Robots has introduced a lightweight, flexible robot that can work alongside factory personnel without safety shielding.
WASHINGTON—U.S. factory orders rose 2.8 percent in July, the biggest overall advance in a year, reflecting sizable gains in demand for motor vehicles and airplanes.
TIJUANA, Mexico—Hyundai will invest $130 million in a new assembly plant here to produce aluminum auto parts. The plant is expected to create 300 jobs.
GREENVILLE, OH—Whirlpool’s assembly plant here, which produces about 1.5 million Kitchen Aid mixers and blenders annually, is expanding and bringing some jobs from China. The plant has hired 70 people this summer, and plant leaders expect to hire another 50 in about a week.
MAPLETON, ND—To accommodate significant growth, agricultural equipment manufacturer Horsch Anderson has begun building a new assembly plant here. The plant will employ at least 80 people within five years.
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