CUPERTINO, CA—Apple has placed a second major supplier in Asia on probation after finding that the company delayed payments to workers—a breach that spurred vandalism at a factory in India in December.

Automation engineers have developed ingenious ways to mechanically singulate and orient parts in a feeder bowl.

MT. PLEASANT, WI–Foxconn is reportedly planning to assemble Google server components at its beleaguered factory here.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA—BAE Systems is investing more than $100 million to build a state-of-the-art electronics assembly and R&D lab here.

TROY, MI—NAI, a manufacturer of custom interconnects, recently announced the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. The facility will produce interconnect devices, including cable assemblies, harnesses and box builds.

SHANGHAI, China—Huawei is planning to build its own chipset factory here as a way to circumvent the U.S. Department of Commerce's decision in August that prohibits U.S. suppliers from providing semiconductor products and components to Huawei and its subsidiaries. The factory will make parts for its telecom hardware business.

Conventional automobiles contain 20 to 50 pounds of copper. Electric vehicles, in contrast, contain about 180 pounds of copper, and 27 million of them are expected on the road by 2027.