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GM extends production shutdown into April due to semiconductor chip shortage
General Motors will keep three of its assembly plants shuttered until at least mid-April and will idle a fourth due to a severe shortage of semiconductor chips used in various vehicle parts. But the automaker is doing everything it can to protect the production of its full-size pickups and SUVs, which are its big profit makers. Demand for semiconductor chips is up in part because of the coronavirus pandemic and increased demand for laptop computers and other personal electronics that use the chips. Cars also use them in a variety of parts and infotainment systems. In fact, one car part could u...
Detroit Free Press
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Dispute threatening big Georgia battery plant gets White House hearing
Two Korean companies in a trade secrets dispute that threatens a massive factory being built in Georgia argued their positions to the White House last week. SK Innovation told officials that President Joe Biden should overturn a recent ruling that could halt its planned production of batteries for electric vehicles at its plant near Commerce, according to a company presentation. SK also told White House officials that it will roughly double its investment in Georgia and the number of jobs it will create — if the project is allowed to continue. In a separate meeting last week with the Biden adm...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Texas manufacturing accelerates despite uncertainty over Biden, snowstorm and oil
A key measure of Texas manufacturing suggested productivity sharply accelerated in February as it notched one of its best scores since the start of pandemic. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ latest survey of manufacturing executives across the state also found marked upticks in the number reporting increases in new orders, shipments and capacity usage after a brief dip in January that followed another uptick in December. A measure of manufacturing jobs slipped some from January, but Emily Kerr, a senior business economist at the bank, noted in an analysis that it still indicated increased h...
Austin American-Statesman
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Ford building new Texas-style Explorer King Ranch at Chicago plant
Ford announced Wednesday it is rolling out a new version of its Explorer SUV — the King Ranch Edition — with the “authenticity” of a Texas ranch and a made-in-Chicago label. The Explorer King Ranch, set to hit showrooms in the spring, will be built exclusively at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant on the city’s Southeast Side. Ford has more than 5,200 hourly employees working three shifts at its Chicago plant. No new hires or retooling is expected to begin production of the King Ranch, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said. Named after a 168-year-old cattle ranch in southern Texas, the new SUV will fe...
Chicago Tribune
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At vaccine facility, Biden says 'we're doing everything possible' to end COVID-19 crisis
PORTAGE, Mich. — President Joe Biden toured the Pfizer campus here Friday, thanked workers manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine and stressed the importance of accelerating its production and distribution as the nation approaches 500,000 dead from the virus. “I can’t give you a date when this crisis will end. But I can tell you we're doing everything possible to have that day come sooner rather than later,” Biden said in remarks after Friday's plant tour. “All of you here are doing some of the most important work in this facility, right here, that can be done.” Pfizer had supplied 40 million dose...
The Detroit News
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At vaccine facility, Biden says 'we're doing everything possible' to end COVID-19 crisis
PORTAGE, Mich. — President Joe Biden toured the Pfizer campus in Portage, thanked workers manufacturing the COVID-19 vaccine and stressed the importance of accelerating its production and distribution as the nation approaches 500,000 dead from the virus. “I can’t give you a date when this crisis will end. But I can tell you we're doing everything possible to have that day come sooner rather than later,” Biden said in remarks after Friday's plant tour. “All of you here are doing some of the most important work in this facility, right here, that can be done.” Wearing a navy blue mask, the presid...
The Detroit News
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Ford announces $1 billion investment in new EV manufacturing facility in Germany
Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said it would invest $1 billion to convert its Cologne, Germany, plant into an electric-vehicle manufacturing center — a major commitment to Europe and to a future defined by electric vehicles. In a news release, the automaker said the facility will be "spearheading" the company's "advance into an all-electric future." Meanwhile, Ford pledged that its entire European passenger-vehicle lineup will be "zero-emissions capable, all-electric or plug-in hybrid" by mid-2026 and all-electric by 2030. On the commercial vehicle side — the driving force behind Ford's profitabi...
The Detroit News
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Weather forces Ford to stop building popular Bronco Sport, other models
By lunchtime on Tuesday, Ford Motor Co. confirmed that the winter weather systems paralyzing much of the U.S had disrupted its plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The Dearborn automaker has shut down four plants and cut shifts at four other plants in North America as conditions remain fluid and plans change with little notice. Kelli Felker, Ford global manufacturing and labor communications manager, confirmed the following: Down due to weather-related concerns: \--Flat Rock, Mich., which builds Mustang \--Kansas City Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford F-150 and Transit Vans \--Ohio Assem...
Detroit Free Press
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GM idles shifts at 4 factories amid arctic blast; 8,000 workers affected
General Motors is canceling shifts at four of its biggest U.S. factories Monday, including its highly profitable full-size SUV plant in Texas and its midsize pickup plant in Missouri. A severe winter storm is delivering arctic temperatures, snow and ice accumulation that can hinder operations, create dangerous driving conditions for workers and impede parts delivery to plants. On Monday, GM spokesman David Barnas told the Free Press that the automaker canceled the following shifts: —Three shifts at its midsize SUV plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. —Three shifts at its full-size SUV factory in A...
Detroit Free Press
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Governor welcomes possibility of Apple Car manufacturing at Kia's Georgia plant
ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp said Thursday he welcomed the possibility that tech giant Apple will set up production with Kia Motors Corp. to manufacture autonomous electric vehicles at the automaker's assembly plant in West Point. "Kia's commitment to excellence and its strong partnership with the state only strengthens Georgia's status as a leader in technology, innovation and manufacturing," the governor said in a statement that nodded toward reports of the arrangement. The two companies are close to finalizing an agreement to make Apple-branded vehicles at the sprawling Kia factory, according ...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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