WASHINGTON—U.S. worker productivity shrank in the final three months of 2012, although the decline was caused by temporary factors. Productivity contracted at an annual rate of 2 percent in the October-December quarter, the biggest drop since the first quarter of 2011.

CHEROKEE, AL—FreightCar America Inc. has subleased approximately 25 percent of Navistar’s assembly plant here to build various types of railcars. FreightCar expects to invest $23 million to equip the facility, which will have the capacity to build more than 7,000 railcars per year.

PARIS—Airbus may add another assembly line for the new A350 wide-body jet to meet rising demand. With more than 600 orders placed for the jet, Airbus is considering adding capacity.

SAO PAULO, Brazil—GM could build another assembly plant in Brazil if sales in the world’s fourth-largest auto market continue expanding at approximately 5 percent annually. The automaker’s existing facility here is already producing some 60,000 vehicles per year.

WASHINGTON—NASA contributed approximately $5 billion to U.S. manufacturing in 2012, according to a new study.

WASHINGTON—The Securities & Exchange Commission has issued its final rule pertaining to publicly-traded companies that make or use products that contain conflict minerals.

CLEVELAND—Ford is planning to invest $200 million at its engine assembly plant here to produce its new four-cylinder EcoBoost engines.

WEST CALDWELL, NJ—Japan UNIX has given Fancort Industries exclusive distribution rights to sell and service their robotic soldering systems throughout North America.

WORCESTER, MA—Cogmedix, a contract manufacturer of medical devices, has added 8,500 square feet to its assembly plant here.

BROOKLYN, NY—MakerBot and Nokia have created a free, downloadable file that enables consumers to create custom cases for their cell phones using a 3D printer.