NEW YORK—Optimism among U.S. manufacturers regarding the global economic outlook reached the highest level since the first quarter of 2012, according to the latest Manufacturing Barometer from PwC. In the third quarter of 2013, 40 percent of respondents expressed optimism regarding the world economy for the next 12 months, up from 31 percent in the prior quarter and 29 percent from the third quarter of 2012.
ARLINGTON, TX—The new stamping facility at GM’s assembly plant here is running and producing sheet metal parts. The automaker plans to add 180 jobs at the facility.
APEX, NC—ATI Industrial Automation, a supplier of tool changers and other robot accessories, will break ground Friday on an expansion of its corporate headquarters here. The project will add 200 new jobs and more than double the company’s manufacturing operations.
ANN ARBOR, MI—Humantech and Ergotron will host two ergonomics “Twitter chats” this month with a board-certified professional ergonomist. Participants can tweet their questions using the hashtag #ergochat during the sessions.
CARROLLTON, GA—Yachiyo of America Inc., a manufacturer of plastic fuel tanks and sunroofs, will invest $30 million to open an assembly plant here. The company plans to create more than 200 jobs during the next three years.
BEIJING—Electronics manufacturer Foxconn has admitted that student interns worked overtime and night shifts at a factory in northeast China in violation of company policy.
BOWLING GREEN, KY—A bomb threat temporarily shut down True Manufacturing’s assembly plant here Friday. No bomb was found and no one was injured at the facility, which makes commercial refrigeration equipment.