Manufacturing | featured news

The pace of growth in the manufacturing sector picked up a tad in March, while new orders dipped modestly, according to an industry report released on Mon day.

China's economic momentum slowed in March as factory activity shrank for a fifth straight month, leaving investors fretting about the risks to global growth and anticipating fresh policy support from Beijing.

Faribault, Minn., is a long way from Silicon Valley, and Faribault Woolen Mill Company may be a far cry from the typical startup. But when cousins Chuck and Paul Mooty first toured the vacant 147-year-old mill in July 2011, they knew the dilapidated building with a flooded basement and outdated equipment was the kind of business that could spark a manufacturing revival -- even a revolution.

Rising wages in developing countries and other factors have made keeping workers in the United States a much more viable option, the Obama administration argues.

Amid signs that the overall jobs climate was improving, manufacturing stands out as an area of surprising strength.

Chinese factories battled with their weakest activity in 32 months in November, a preliminary purchasing managers' survey showed, reviving worries that China may be skidding toward an economic hard landing and compounding global recession fears.

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday it will add 5,750 jobs and invest $4.8 billion in its U.S. factories as part of a new contract deal with the United Auto Workers union....

A monthly manufacturing survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released Monday morning shows the factory sector is still growing, albeit modestly.

Strong auto production drove factory output higher for a second straight month in August. But manufacturing was otherwise weak last month, a troubling sign for the economy.

Manufacturing grew a little slower in August than the previous month, but didn't contract as some had feared.