The need to mark parts or assemblies with some sort of identification code is becoming more and more important to facilitate quality control, supply chain management, brand protection, recalls and regulatory compliance.

HEMERAJ, Thailand--Responding to a booming automotive market, Bosch plans to open a new plant for injection technology here. It is the first smart factory in Thailand, and the second Bosch Mobility Solutions plant there.

WASHINGTON--New orders for manufactured goods fell 0.1 percent in October from the month before, according to a report from the Commerce Department on Monday, but that was better than the 0.4 percent decline expected in a consensus estimate from analysts. This latest performance followed an upwardly revised September hike of 1.7 percent.

LAFAYETTE, IN--Subaru of Indiana Automotive unveiled its new Subaru Ascent, which will be manufactured at the automaker’s assembly plant here. To support the increased production, the company plans to create up to 200 new jobs by 2018.

COLOGNE, Germany--Visual management techniques inspired by Ford Motor Co. are being used at Europe’s biggest cancer-treatment facility here, while the hospital’s big-data techniques are helping the automaker design future vehicles.

U.S. manufacturing continued to roll in 2017. Want proof? Look no further than Toyota Motor Corp. In September, the world’s largest automaker announced that it will invest $374 million at five U.S. factories.

DETROIT--Nissan Motor Co. will need to build a new factory if it keeps growing in the lucrative American auto market, says Jose Munoz, chairman of Nissan North America. The addition would have to be a standalone new factory because the company's existing plants in Tennessee and Mississippi are "maxed out," according to Munoz.

WASHINGTON--The U.S. manufacturing sector has weathered a bumpy road over the course of the past two decades, but successfully righting the country's industrial ship would mean an economic windfall of $530 billion, according to a new report from The McKinsey Global Institute.