All articles tagged with #manufacturing
Nintendo confirms it will continue selling the original Switch in regions outside Europe, with European shipments ending in February 2027; the Switch family will be manufactured through 2026 in other regions, and there were no announced changes for those areas. The move is likely tied to European battery regulations and a forthcoming Switch 2 revision with a user-replaceable battery.
Toyota Motor North America announced a $3.6 billion expansion of its San Antonio South Side plant, adding a second assembly line to produce Toyota Tacomas, expanding by 2.5 million square feet and creating about 2,000 jobs by 2030, with Tacoma production shifting from Tijuana to San Antonio over the next four years; the project doubles the plant’s footprint and reinforces North American investment, praised by Gov. Greg Abbott and San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones.
Toyota will build a $3.6 billion, 2.5-million-square-foot auto plant on its San Antonio campus, set to open by 2030 and create about 2,000 jobs; Tacoma pickup production will move from the Baja California plant in Mexico to the Texas facility when it’s completed, while Tacoma production will continue at Guanajuato, Mexico. A new 500,000-square-foot rear-axle plant is also planned on the site this autumn, with Toyota reaffirming its commitment to Mexico, Canada and the U.S. amid North American trade discussions.
Toyota plans to shift Tacoma midsize pickup production from Mexico to its San Antonio, Texas plant, investing $3.6 billion to add a second assembly line and expand capacity to 350,000 units by 2030, creating about 2,000 U.S. jobs as part of a broader goal to invest up to $10 billion more in U.S. manufacturing through 2030.
The Department of Defense spent about $3.6 billion in Maine on defense contractors during the 2024 budget year, highlighted by major players like Bath Iron Works (General Dynamics) and Pratt & Whitney and a range of smaller firms that collectively power the state’s defense-focused manufacturing sector.
Sony is repurposing its sole PlayStation disc plant in Thalgau, Austria, retraining about 300 workers to produce optical microlenses as it winds down physical disc production for PS games; output is cut to roughly 10% of former levels (about 60,000 discs/year), with €30 million invested in the new tech, effectively ending worldwide PS disc manufacturing and coinciding with the end of PS3/PS Vita store support.
NIST and SRI International are creating the Quantum Manufacturing Engineering Center (QMEC) with an initial $20 million to accelerate the scalable manufacture of high‑performance quantum components and systems, address manufacturing barriers, and strengthen the U.S. quantum industry through public‑private collaboration and connections to the Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C).
China’s official manufacturing PMI rose to 50.3 in June, signaling expansion driven by high‑tech and AI-related production and a rebound in new export orders, while the non‑manufacturing PMI edged up to 50.2. External demand provided a lift amid weak domestic demand and a property downturn, with policymakers showing little sign of near‑term stimulus despite some improvement in exports.
Ford rehired about 350 veteran engineers—including former employees and suppliers—after automated AI quality systems underperformed. The “gray beard” engineers will train younger staff and help reprogram AI tools, a move Ford says has reduced warranty/recall costs and supported its top initial-quality ranking in a JD Power survey.
Ford admits its aggressive AI-powered automation backfired, rehiring hundreds of veteran engineers to oversee quality and train the systems. The technicians lead quality reviews to catch and fix issues before parts reach the shop floor, a move that coincided with a notable quality rise in the JD Power Initial Quality Survey, though Ford says recalls on older models persist. The company plans to continue using AI, but with stronger human oversight rather than a full automation replacement.
Chinese manufacturers led by Midea are rushing to boost portable PortaSplit air conditioners for Europe as record heatwaves drive demand; units are being moved to Europe by rail to catch the peak season, with strong year‑over‑year growth in markets like France, Spain, Germany and the UK, while Europe’s historically low AC penetration and regulatory hurdles contrast with growing demand for affordable, Chinese cooling products and China’s dominant role in global cooling exports.
Goldman Sachs says the next AI surge will move from software into the physical economy—boosting AI infrastructure investments in factories, mines, utilities and oil rigs. The firm estimates about $7.6 trillion globally will be spent on AI infrastructure (compute, data centers, and power) from 2026–2031 as automation accelerates in industry.
The June S&P Global US Flash PMI shows U.S. manufacturing payrolls contracting for the second straight month, with factory layoffs at the fastest pace since the pandemic and near the worst outside the 2008–09 crisis (excluding COVID). While cooling energy costs ease input inflation, service growth remains subdued and the upturn is being buoyed mainly by inventory rebuilding, raising questions about the durability of demand.
Former President Donald Trump visited Mack Trucks’ Reading, Pennsylvania facility during a campaign swing, stepping off Air Force One to address reporters and highlight American manufacturing at the plant.
June's S&P Global flash PMIs show U.S. manufacturing still expanding for the month (PMI 55.7) but with factory job cuts at their highest since 2009 outside the Covid period, highlighting demand worries and rising costs even as inventories bolster output; services activity also rose modestly (PMI 51.3), underscoring that overall growth remains tepid for the economy.