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US manufacturing recovery continues despite weak December
Washington (AFP) - The ongoing struggles of the aviation sector held back US durable goods orders at the end of 2020, but the manufacturing sector continued to slowly recover from the Covid-19 downturn, government data showed on Wednesday. Orders for big-ticket manufactured items grew a measly 0.2 percent in December, well below expectations and November's upwardly revised growth, though there's evidence the sector's recovery is continuing after the coronavirus disrupted factory operations across the United States earlier in 2020. Orders were up overall 1.4 percent from December 2019, and Ian ...
AFP
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Yokogawa Electric wins order for work on Indonesian geothermal plant
JAKARTA, NNA - Yokogawa Electric Corp. has won a control system and integration service order from Indonesia's state-run Pt Pertamina Geothermal Energy for its Lahendong geothermal power plant in North Sulawesi Province. Yokogawa said Monday its subsidiary, PT Yokogawa Indonesia, received the order for an undisclosed amount to provide the Lahendong plant with control systems and field instruments for four of the plant's six generation units. In addition to replacing the existing control systems for the steamfield above ground system at the 120-megawatt Lahendong plant by around November this y...
NNA Business News
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North American auto industry feels effects of global microchip shortage
Automakers in North America are beginning to feel the effects of a global shortage of semiconductors that has caused a crunch for manufacturers worldwide, adding a wrinkle to the industry's attempted comeback from the coronavirus crisis. Ford Motor Co. confirmed Friday that it will idle its Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky this week "due to a supplier part shortage connected to the semiconductor shortage," company spokeswoman Kelli Felker said. Ford builds its Escape and the Lincoln Corsair SUVs in Louisville. The automaker said it has moved up a previously planned week of downtime to nex...
The Detroit News
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US manufacturers power through December Covid surge
Washington (AFP) - The resurgence of Covid-19 in the United States did not hold back factories in December, which saw activity grow faster than expected, according to an industry survey released Tuesday. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) manufacturing index rose to 60.7 percent last month, defying forecasts that it would decline slightly as the world's largest economy struggled with surging levels of coronavirus infections. "Manufacturing performed well for the seventh straight month, with demand, consumption and inputs registering strong growth compared to November," survey chair Ti...
AFP
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Boeing speeds up 787 consolidation in South Carolina
Boeing will speed up the consolidation of 787 production in South Carolina so that Everett will lose final assembly of the airplane by March rather than the originally announced timeline of mid-2021, according to an internal company memo. The memo to all 787 employees was sent by Lane Ballard, Boeing vice president and general manager of the 787 program and site leader at the North Charleston, S.C., manufacturing site. "Production and delivery consolidation in South Carolina ... will take place in March 2021," Ballard wrote. The company's reduction of the 787 production rate from six airplanes...
The Seattle Times
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Costume designer creates a mask that helps singers, instrumentalists get back to work
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the folks who toil behind the scenes on theatrical productions have found themselves unemployed. But costume designer Robin L. McGee has been anything but idle. McGee, who has worked on Muny productions including “Cinderella,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Jerome Robbins’ Broadway,” is project manager with the Broadway Relief Project. Composed of New York-based designers and stitchers who normally lend their talents to Broadway shows, the project is now focused on manufacturing masks in response to the health crisis. Recently, McGee, of Highla...
Tribune News Service
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TCG Solutions set to expand in Asia after huge acquisition of Vietnam’s Bien Hoa Packaging
BANGKOK, NNA-- TCG Solutions Pte. Ltd., a subsidiary of Thailand's SCG Packaging Public Co. (SCGP), is poised to expand further in Asia after buying a huge majority stake in Vietnam’s consumer goods packaging supplier Bien Hoa Packaging Joint Stock Company (SOVI). TCG Solutions paid 2.7 billion baht ($90 million) for a 94.11 percent stake or 12 million shares from Bien Hoa shareholders, according to SCGP’s filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Friday. TCG Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Thai Containers Group Co., which is a joint venture of SCGP and Rengo Co. SCGP is a subsidia...
NNA Business News
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2021 Mustang Mach-E electric SUV is everything most of us could ask for
If you care about cars, technology or climate change, it’s impossible not to feel a thrill walking up to a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E. Not that the first electric SUV to bear the legendary Mustang pony badge is a big deal, or anything, but hey, the first edition is sold out, and the waiting list for others isn't getting any shorter. The sleek, five-seat newcomer successfully transfers the magic of the Mustang to the vehicle that launches Ford’s transition to electric power. It’s a handsome, tech-rich vehicle. Like the classic Mustang coupe and convertible that created the pony car’s mystique, bu...
Detroit Free Press
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Will Group sets up production and logistics staff unit in Vietnam
HANOI, NNA - Japanese job placement firm Will Group Inc. is advancing into Vietnam to help technical trainees returning from Japan work in the nation's growing manufacturing and logistics sectors. Will Group of Tokyo announced Monday the establishment of Willof Vietnam Co. in Ho Chi Minh City by Willof Factory Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary specializing in dispatching manufacturing and logistics staff. Willof Vietnam will start operations on Friday to help Vietnamese technical trainees get jobs in their homeland after undergoing training in Japan, Will Group said. Willof Factory engages in hu...
NNA Business News
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US firms gear up for distribution of Covid vaccines
New York (AFP) - With the imminent arrival of coronavirus vaccines that will need to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, US companies are gearing up for a massive logistical effort to aid their distribution. Automaker Ford has ordered its own freezers while meat processing giant Smithfield said it is ready to put the cold room at its abattoirs at the disposal of vaccine roll-out operations. Companies specializing in insulating containers have been on a war footing for weeks after Pfizer and BioNTech said the vaccine they had jointly developed needs to be stored at -94 degrees Fahrenheit (-70...
AFP
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