In his August 2017 editorial, “Tariff Debate Pits Producers Against Consumers,” chief editor John Sprovieri clearly posed the dilemma of low-priced Chinese steel imports, which have severely impacted the U.S. steel industry.

The automotive industry is undergoing the biggest transformation in its 130-year history. Automakers and suppliers around the world are scrambling to develop autonomous vehicles. And, they’re under increasing pressure from outsiders ranging from Silicon Valley tech giants to startup entrepreneurs.

LAFAYETTE, IN--Subaru of America is expanding its U.S. assembly plant here to accommodate an upcoming model. The company is shuffling assembly lines and adding space for its upcoming Ascent three-row crossover. Subaru says it is investing $100 million into its plant here and adding about 200 jobs. The additions will yield a total of 5,800 employees working in the facility to produce the Outback, Impreza, Legacy and new Ascent.

OWENSBORO, KY--Automotive frame manufacturer Metalsa Structural Products is adding 113 jobs here with a $36.5 million expansion to produce a new line of stamped and welded components. The spending will include investment in robotic welding cells, assembly line robots, infrastructure and building expansions to accommodate the new production line and additional warehouse space.

A variety of in-line surface treatment technologies are available to promote adhesion in thermoset and thermoplastic composites.

Despite the stereotype often promoted by the general media and politicians, automation has not replaced every manual task in manufacturing plants. Many thousands of U.S. workers lift heavy objects around their workstations all day, every day.

YOKOHAMA, Japan--Nissan Motor Co. is attempting to foster a corporate culture that produces manufacturing innovations in leaps and bounds instead of steady incremental improvement. Corporate Vice President Atsuhiko Hayakawa says the new approach is called kakushin, which means to deliver change that's a multiple of a previous improvement.

SAN FRANCISCO--Cruise, the self-driving car startup that sold to General Motors last year, has developed a production design vehicle based on the Bolt electric vehicle. Temporarily dubbed Generation 3, the car is now ready for the factory production line. Thus far, the company has produced about 50 of the cars.

Ultrasonic welding can handle most plastics assembly applications. Other friction-based processes, such as vibration welding and spin welding, can usually tackle the rest. However, that necessitates investing in three separate machines at considerable cost.

Sometimes, when a product has been around for many years, the best way to gain market share in a crowded field is to completely rethink the design.