Not all mothers have the luxury of being “absent,” a reader writes. Also: A lawsuit against 16 elite schools; the heart of Christianity; jobs in manufacturing.
Tag Archives: Factories and Manufacturing
Why Tesla Soared as Other Automakers Struggled to Make Cars
The yawning disparity between the performance of the electric car company and established automakers last year reflects the technological change roiling the industry.
New York Could Make History With a Fashion Sustainability Act
The state would be the first to pass legislation setting broad sustainability regulations for the industry.
Supply Chain Woes Prompt a New Push to Revive U.S. Factories
Companies are testing whether the United States can regain some of the manufacturing output it ceded in recent decades to China and other countries.
Tesla Reports 87% Increase in 2021 Deliveries
The electric-car maker managed substantial growth as Europe and China increasingly propelled sales.
U.S. Effort to Combat Forced Labor Targets Corporate China Ties
The Biden administration is expected to face scrutiny as it decides how to enforce a new ban on products made with forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China.
Injuries Reported in Fire at Exxon Mobil Refinery in Baytown, Texas
The complex in Baytown is about 25 miles east of Houston.
How China’s CATL Became the Top Electric Car Battery Maker
Beijing gave CATL lavish subsidies, a captive market of buyers and soft regulatory treatment, helping it to control a crucial technology of the future.
In a Small Kentucky Town, the Candle Factory Was a Lifeline for Its Workers
Eight people were killed when a tornado struck a Mayfield Consumer Products building. Now, amid acrimony over whether managers could have done more to keep employees safe, there is worry about lost jobs.
Tornadoes Shouldn’t Be a Workplace Hazard
The disasters that struck in Kentucky and Illinois cannot be separated from the overall political economy of the United States.
In Kentucky, Tallying the Grim Scale of Destruction
“I don’t think we’ll have seen damage at this scale, ever,” said Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky in the wake of the devastating tornadoes on Friday.
In a Kentucky Town Hit by a Tornado, Anguish, Worry — and Feeling Grateful to Be Alive
A tornado devastated much of Mayfield, Ky., leaving a close-knit community to grapple with what it has lost and what it will take to recover.
GM’s EV Efforts Reportedly Include a Bigger Michigan Presence
The company will make electric pickups at an existing plant and batteries at a factory built with a partner, a person with knowledge of the plan said.
Consumer Prices Rose at Fastest Pace Since 1982
The Consumer Price Index is rising sharply, a concern for Washington policymakers and a sign of the rising costs facing American households.
How the Supply Chain Upheaval Became a Life-or-Death Threat
A maker of medical devices can’t keep up with customer demand as the shortage of computer chips puts it in competition with bigger companies with more clout.
Why the Supply Chain Crisis Does Not Affect These Businesses
Focusing on local parts and production, some manufacturers have been rewarded during the pandemic.
Supply Chain Snarls for Cars on Display at a Kansas Terminal
A shipping terminal in Kansas reveals the fundamental problem — no one can plan, and no one is sure what will happen next.
India’s Economy Still Weak, Despite a Strong Third Quarter
Covid-19 essentially robbed the country of more than a year of badly needed economic growth. That’s lost ground that cannot be regained quickly.
How Tesla Helps China’s Firms Compete With the U.S.
The electric car company is helping Chinese companies become global players in the emerging industry, posing a competitive threat to traditional rivals.
Supply-Chain Kinks Force Small Manufacturers to Scramble
Facing delays, shortages and higher prices for raw materials, companies are finding new sources. Not all are able to pass along the costs.
Supply Chain Shortages Help a North Carolina Furniture Town
The furniture capital of the state is ground zero for inflation, labor shortages, hot demand and limited supply. It’s debating how to cope.
How the $4 Trillion Flood of Covid Relief Is Funding the Future
From broadband to transportation to high-tech medical manufacturing, benefits from America’s pandemic money infusion will linger.
End the Trump-Biden Tariffs
An import tax on chassis is contributing to inflation and port congestion. The government needs to find better ways of increasing manufacturing.
Volkswagen C.E.O. Herbert Diess Sets Sights on Beating Tesla
Herbert Diess, the chief executive, seeks to cast VW as a dynamic, modern company, but his style risks the ire of its powerful works council.
Biden Administration Plans to Expand Covid Vaccine Production
The Biden administration will spend billions of dollars on a new plan to combat the pandemic, investing in antiviral pills, rapid tests and manufacturing.
Cities Try to Lure Factories as U.S. Pushes to Fix Chip Shortage
Many local governments see a silver lining in the shortage of semiconductor chips that has contributed to a slowdown in the global economy.
Vietnam’s Workers Hesitate to Return After Covid Outbreak
Vietnam, one of the world’s largest suppliers of apparel and footwear, is experiencing a labor shortage. Many employees are reluctant to return after a harsh summer lockdown.
Chip Shortage Creates New Power Players
Low-profile chip makers with aging factories have become surprisingly powerful, leading to industry changes that may outlive the pandemic-fueled supply crunch.
Aaron Feuerstein, Mill Owner Who Refused to Leave, Dies at 95
After a fire devastated his Massachusetts factory in 1995, he kept paying his employees and spent hundreds of millions to rebuild.
How Car Shortages Are Putting the Economy at Risk
Because so many jobs depend on automaking, the industry’s production problems are causing the pain to ripple.
How the Pandemic Has Added to Labor Unrest
While big companies wield considerable power, Covid’s economic disruption has given workers new leverage, contributing to a recent upturn in strikes.
Global Shipping Delays Loom Over Retailers for the Holidays
The travails of a Chicago fishing company’s advent calendar highlight the supply chain hurdles for businesses trying to deliver items in time for the holidays.
Josh Hawley: To Solve Our Supply Chain Crisis, Rethink Trade
The pandemic has exposed problems decades in the making. We need to fix them.
U.S. Economy Slowed in Third Quarter as Delta Variant Surged
New data shows how bottlenecks and the Delta variant slowed economic growth in the third quarter. Relief may be slow.
General Motors’ Third-Quarter Profit Hit Hard by Chip Shortage
The automakers said the profit outlook for the full year had improved, and higher car prices eased the impact of reduced production.
Build Back Better Has Some Fans in Manchin’s Backyard
Why the Build Back Better plan has backers in coal country.
Supply Chain Shortages: Your Questions Answered
Confession: We didn’t even have a logistics beat before the pandemic. Now we do. Here’s what we’ve learned about the global supply chain disruption.
‘Shell Game’: How Chemical Companies Avoid Paying for Pollution
DuPont factories pumped dangerous substances into the environment. The company and its offspring have gone to great lengths to dodge responsibility.
China’s GDP Growth Slows as Property and Energy Take a Toll
Growth of 4.9 percent shows the country’s huge industrial sector has run into trouble. But exports and services are looking strong.
Toyota to Cut November Production 15% Amid Chip Shortages
The automaker had initially planned to produce a million vehicles in November, but it now projects it will make 850,000 to 900,000 vehicles next month.
What’s Behind the Energy Crunch in Britain and Europe
Natural gas prices have skyrocketed, pressuring manufacturers and households with high energy bills.
Biden to Announce Expansion of Port of Los Angeles’s Hours
The expansion of the Port of Los Angeles’s hours comes as the administration has struggled to untangle kinks in global supply chains and curb the resulting inflation.
China’s Power Problems Expose a Strategic Weakness
The country’s energy inefficiency and dependence on climate-damaging coal threaten to damage its image as a reliable manufacturing base.
World’s Growth Cools and the Rich-Poor Divide Widens
The International Monetary Fund says the persistence of the coronavirus and global supply chain crisis weighs on economies.
When a Factory Relocates to Mexico, What Happens to Its American Workers?
“American Made,” by Farah Stockman, is a deeply reported account of three workers at a ball bearing plant in Indianapolis, as the factory closes down and they lose their jobs.
What the Shipping Crisis Looks Like at a U.S. Port
An enduring traffic jam at the Port of Savannah reveals why the chaos in global shipping is likely to persist.
What America’s Port Crisis Looks Like Up Close
An enduring traffic jam at the Port of Savannah reveals why the chaos in global shipping is likely to persist.
What Killed the Blue-Collar Struggle for Social Justice
For Americans without a college degree, the labor movement, the civil rights movement and the women’s liberation movement boiled down to jobs.
Democrats Lost the Most in Midwestern ‘Factory Towns’, Report Says
The party’s struggles in communities that saw declines in manufacturing and union jobs, and health care, could more than offset its gains in metropolitan areas.
How Germany’s Economy Is Hurt by Supply Chain Shortages
Europe’s largest economy is particularly vulnerable to shortages of key parts and raw materials because of its dependence on exports.