WASHINGTON—U.S. sales of machine tools totaled more than $5.7 billion in 2012, a 2.6 percent increase compared with 2011 and the highest total since 1996.
WASHINGTON—Factory orders increased in December even though companies trimmed orders for the goods that signal investment plans. The Commerce Department says factory orders rose 1.8 percent in December from November, when orders had fallen 0.3 percent.
NEW YORK—The Dow industrials topped 14,000 for the first time since 2007, capping their fifth-straight weekly gain, following encouraging data on U.S. jobs and manufacturing.
WASHINGTON—Orders for durable goods in the United States rose in December for an unprecedented fourth consecutive month, indicating manufacturing will keep improving in 2013.
NEW YORK—Most U.S. manufacturing executives anticipate revenue growth in the year ahead, and plans to hire new employees are at the highest level since mid-2006, according to the latest Manufacturing Barometer from PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
EVANSTON, IL—Twenty-eight of the nation’s top fifty industrial cities posted gains in manufacturing jobs last year, according to a new report released by Manufacturers’ News. This was an improvement from 2011, when only 17 cities saw increases.
SARASOTA, FL—Florida manufacturers are anticipating a good year in 2013. The state’s exports of manufactured goods have grown 142 percent since 2000, ahead of the national average at 80 percent.
WASHINGTON—The trade deficit unexpectedly widened in November as U.S. imports jumped almost four times more than exports, gains that signal a rebound in global growth.
