DEARBORN, MI—Ford plans to eventually shift all North American small-car production from the U.S. to Mexico, CEO Mark Fields told investors last week, even though the company’s production investments in Mexico have become a lightning rod for controversy in the presidential election.
SEATTLE—Joe Sutter, the Boeing Co. engineer who ushered in the modern era of long-range travel by spearheading the 747 jumbo jet in the 1960s, died this week. He was 95.
CHATTANOOGA, TN—Volkswagen of America is going to court to block an order that it negotiate a contract with the UAW for maintenance employees at its assembly plant here. The workers voted to unionize last year.
ORION, MI—GM’s assembly plant here saves $1 million annually by using renewable energy sources and now ranks as the 8th largest user of “green power” in the United States.
SPRING HILL, TN—The UAW is claiming another victory in the southern United States, with union members voting nearly unanimously to approve a new contract with the Magna Seating assembly plant here.
KILDEER, IL—From January 2010 until July 2016, approximately 265,000 jobs have come back to the United States from abroad, according to the latest estimates from the Reshoring Initiative.
BEIJING—China’s first domestic manufacturer of jet engines, Aero Engine Corp. of China, has officially opened for business. The multibillion dollar conglomerate will employ some 100,000 people and incorporate subsidiaries of various state-owned firms, including the Aviation Industrial Corp. of China.
FAIRFIELD, CT—Rotor stacking is a key process in the assembly of gas turbines, requiring extremely high levels of precision. If the rotor wheels are stacked incorrectly due to differences in surface temperature, they will need to be reassembled, incurring additional costs and delays. Tata Consultancy Services and General Electric have developed a new technology that will analyze the temperature at various points on metal turbine parts as they are assembled, allowing operators to know when the next operation can be performed.
BELVIDERE, IL—The tornado that touched down at an industrial park in Windsor, ON, last week has temporarily halted vehicle production at FCA’s assembly plant here. The plant receives parts from a Windsor supplier, which was severely damaged by the tornado.
CHAMPAIGN, IL—For years, employers, pundits and policymakers alike have bemoaned the lack of qualified workers available to fill vacant manufacturing jobs in the U.S. However, a new study indicates that demand for higher-level skills in U.S. manufacturing jobs is generally modest, and three-quarters of U.S. manufacturing plants show no sign of hiring difficulties for open positions.
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