CHATTANOOGA, TN—Volkswagen may soon need to negotiate wages and benefits with the UAW local in Tennessee after the National Labor Relations Board rejected the automaker’s appeal that skilled-trades workers couldn’t organize separately from others at its assembly plant here.

MASHIKI, Japan—Toyota and Nissan have suspended production at two plants in Japan that export Lexus and crossover vehicles after an earthquake damaged two suppliers’ factories.

COTTONDALE, AL—SMP Automotive Systems Alabama Inc. is constructing a $154 million assembly plant here. Expected to employ 650 people, the 700,000-square-foot factory will make bumpers, door panels and other parts for Mercedes-Benz.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Cascade Engineering, a manufacturer of plastic parts, has been creating career pathways for those returning from prison for more than a decade. The company counts more than 75 formerly incarcerated workers among their staff of 690.

BARDSTOWN, KY—Thai Summit Kentucky Corp. will invest $110 million to build a new stamping and assembly plant here after signing a deal to supply parts for Ford Motor Co. The company anticipates creating 216 full-time jobs in the coming decade.

OAK RIDGE, TN—Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a 20-kilowatt wireless charging system for electric vehicles. The system is said to be three times more efficient than plug-in systems.

DEARBORN, MI—Ford Motor Co. will invest more than $1 billion over the next 10 years to modernize its headquarters facility here.

DETROIT—General Motors is turning its employees’ recycled water bottles into noise-reducing fabric insulation that covers the engine in the Chevrolet Equinox. The bottles—collected from five of its Michigan facilities—are also being turned into air filtration components and insulation for winter coats for the homeless.

GALLATIN, TN—Gun maker Beretta USA is opening a new, $45 million assembly plant here on April 15.

NEW YORK—The United States sits just behind China in terms of manufacturing competitiveness in 2016, and is expected to overtake the country by 2020, according to a study by consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.