Operations


  • Volvo's ES90 all-electric sedan is parked in front of a building.
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    Provided by Volvo Cars

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    Sensor maker Luminar Technologies files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, pursues chip business sale

    The company plans to sell Luminar Semiconductors, Inc. for $110 million and restructure its debt after losing a major contract with automaker Volvo.

    By Dec. 17, 2025
  • A U.S. flag flies in front of shipping containers and cranes at the Port of Los Angeles on Sept. 26, 2025.
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Manufacturers plan price hikes over reshoring to combat tariff effects

    Industry leaders are displaying “slight optimism” for next year, with increased projections for revenue and capital spending as trade uncertainty settles, according to ISM’s Supply Chain Planning Forecast.

    By Shefali Kapadia • Dec. 17, 2025
  • Trendline

    Upskilling a Modern Manufacturing Workforce

    As manufacturing systems change, often becoming more automated and technical, employers are increasingly looking for ways to attract a more skilled workforce.

    By Manufacturing Dive staff
  • Doug Field, Ford's chief EV, digital and design officer, speaks at a presentation in August 2025 announcing the automaker's new Universal EV Platform.
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    Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
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    Ford scraps EV plans, shifts to hybrids, EREVs and low-cost models

    The automaker will focus its North American EV development on a new family of smaller, highly efficient and less expensive models.

    By Dec. 16, 2025
  • Roomba robot vacuums made by iRobot are displayed on a shelf at a Target store.
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Roomba maker files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeks acquisition by contract manufacturer

    iRobot has struggled with sales in recent years amid growing foreign competition and supply chain issues. A China-based manufacturer is looking to buy the company.

    By Dec. 16, 2025
  • A gloved hand inserts a computer chip into place
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    Getty Images
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    Semiconductor industry most concerned by tariffs, trade policy: KPMG

    For the first time, supply chain issues overtook talent as industry leaders’ top concern, according to the advisory firm’s 21st annual Global Semiconductor Outlook.

    By Shefali Kapadia • Dec. 16, 2025
  • Nissan Caton Mississippi worker plant production
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    Provided by Nissan Motor Co. 

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    Nissan names VP to oversee US manufacturing overhaul

    Victor Taylor will lead operational changes across all three of Nissan's U.S. plants while leading the automaker’s supply chain and production engineering.

    By Antone Gonsalves • Dec. 16, 2025
  • Coca-Cola cans on a pallet.
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    George Frey via Getty Images
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    Foxconn and Anthro Energy among latest companies to invest in US facilities

    Beverage maker Swire Coca-Cola and tractor firm Bad Boy Mowers are also investing in manufacturing facilities to expand domestic production.

    By Dec. 15, 2025
  • Two people in business suits shake hands next to a podium with the Virginia seal
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    Courtesy of LS Cable & System
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    LS Cable & System to invest additional $689M in Virginia

    The South Korea-based company is building a manufacturing complex to be operated through three of its subsidiaries in Chesapeake. 

    By Dec. 15, 2025
  • A BlueOval SK flag on display outside the joint venture's battery plant under construction last year in Tennessee.
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    Courtesy of BlueOval SK
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    Ford, SK On dissolving BlueOval SK EV battery joint venture

    The planned $11.4 billion investment by the two companies included building three manufacturing plants in the U.S.

    By Dec. 12, 2025
  • Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell answers questions from reporters
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Fed trims main rate by quarter point, forecasts one cut in 2026

    Policymakers reduced borrowing costs for the third time in 2025 amid persistent signs of cooling in the labor market.

    By Jim Tyson • Updated Dec. 10, 2025
  • A rendering of Eli Lilly's planned $6 billion factory coming to Huntsville, Alabama.
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    Courtesy of Eli Lilly
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    Lilly to build $6B weight-loss drug factory in Alabama

    This is the third of four planned U.S. manufacturing sites the pharmaceutical giant has unveiled this year, set to bring 450 factory jobs to the Huntsville area.

    By Dec. 11, 2025
  • A line of green and yellow John Deere tractors
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Deere targets big sales goals as Trump pushes for lower equipment prices

    The tractor maker’s Smart Industrial strategy is positioned to help fuel growth and shareholder value over the next five years.

    By Dec. 10, 2025
  • A closeup of President Donald Trump pointing
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Trump orders investigation into food supply chains for possible price fixing

    Under pressure to address rising grocery costs, the president directed new task forces to determine whether anticompetitive behavior exists, particularly among foreign-owned companies. 

    By Sarah Zimmerman • Dec. 10, 2025
  • Boston Dynamics' Spot robot is on display at IFS' Industrial X Unleashed event in New York City on Nov. 13, 2025.
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    Nathan Owens/Manufacturing Dive
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    Robots, virtualization and grid risks are top of mind for executives

    As data centers and robotics come online, the electrical grid is becoming a growing risk for the tech industry, experts said at IFS’ Industrial X Unleashed event in New York City.

    By Dec. 9, 2025
  • A large white building with a dome in the center in the background, with green landscape in the front and "Minnesota" text on tiles.
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    Getty Images
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    Minnesota updates, adopts PFAS reporting rule

    The state’s pollution control agency has modified the regulation in response to an administrative law judge’s critiques. The MPCA has also soft-launched a reporting system that will open to all manufacturers in January 2026.

    By Dec. 9, 2025
  • A ladle of holt molten iron is poured into a Basic Oxygen Process furnace where it will be transformed into liquid steel.
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    Courtesy of U.S. Steel Corp.

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    US Steel to resume idled blast furnace at Illinois plant

    The decision signals a reversal in the company’s September plans to reduce slab production at Granite City Works, in turn bringing back up to 500 jobs.

    By Dec. 8, 2025
  • Four planes flying above the clouds with the blue and white Boeing logo on the bottom of the fuselage and the 737 on the rudder.
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    Courtesy of Flight Pavilion Studios / Boeing
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    Boeing completes $8.3B Spirit AeroSystems acquisition

    Airbus and Composites Technology Research Malaysia have also completed acquisitions of the fuselage maker’s assets, which supply components to both aircraft manufacturers.

    By Updated Dec. 9, 2025
  • Laptops on display on a beige table in a store.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Apple expands manufacturing training program with online courses

    The iPhone maker’s Apple Manufacturing Program was previously only available in person in Detroit. The initiative is part of the manufacturer’s $600 billion commitment to boost the advanced manufacturing sector in the U.S.

    By Dec. 8, 2025
  • Algoma Steel workers stand in front of the company's new electric arc furnace.
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    Courtesy of Algoma Steel
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    Sharpie maker Newell Brands among recent holiday layoffs

    Meanwhile, Algoma Steel is shutting down its blast furnace and coke-making operations in the coming months and apparel manufacturer Renfro Brands is closing its Fort Payne, Alabama, factory.

    By Dec. 5, 2025
  • The left side of a shiny green plane fuselage with the blue and white Spirit AeroSystems logo.
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    David Ryder via Getty Images
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    FTC approves Boeing for Spirit AeroSystems acquisition, but with a few conditions

    The Federal Trade Commission ordered the aircraft manufacturer to divest some of the fuselage suppliers’ overseas assets and provide services and aerospace components to its defense competitors.

    By Dec. 4, 2025
  • A rendering of Wolfspeed's new materials facility in Chatham County, North Carolina.
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    Courtesy of Wolfspeed
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    Post-bankruptcy, Wolfspeed receives nearly $700M tax refund from CHIPS Act

    The money strengthens the chipmaker’s balance sheet post-bankruptcy and accelerates the production ramp of its 200-millimeter wafers.

    By Dec. 4, 2025
  • Neural Concept Stock Art
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    Permission granted by Neural Concept
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    AI design helping automakers match China’s speed-to-market

    Neural Concept is growing its client base by promising production speed, efficiency and razor’s-edge technology.

    By Paul Myles • Dec. 4, 2025
  • Four women sitting in chairs next to each other, and each holding their own microphone.
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    Sara Samora/Manufacturing Dive
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    How child care opens more opportunities for manufacturers

    Companies can see a return on investment, such as fewer absences and increased productivity, when they utilize 45F tax incentives to provide child care and benefits.

    By Dec. 3, 2025
  • A person uses a torch cutter with a backwards hat in a manufacturing facility
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    Getty Images
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    House lawmakers pass bill to double SBA loan limits for manufacturers

    The legislation would increase the agency’s cap to $10 million for company operations located entirely in the United States.

    By Dec. 3, 2025
  • A campus with white and glass buildings surrounced by a parking lot and trees.
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    Courtesy of IBM
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    XLight, Commerce Department ink $150M CHIPS Act incentives

    The Silicon Valley-based startup plans to construct, expand and demonstrate a free-electron laser, which could be essential for manufacturing new, high-performing semiconductor devices.

    By Dec. 2, 2025