LINCOLN, NE—For the third year in a row, industrial employment in Nebraska posted a gain, according to the 2014 Nebraska Manufacturers Register. The state gained 1,731 manufacturing jobs from July 2012 to July 2013 and is now home to 2,765 manufacturers employing 123,505 workers.
DETROIT—Brisk sales of pickups and SUVs are causing the Detroit Three automakers to eliminate or shorten their traditional two-week summer shutdown at many U.S. plants.
MEXICO CITY—Mexico is poised to overtake Brazil as the top Latin American automobile producer for the first time in more than a decade, as surging exports to the United States spur factory openings and record output.
FORT SMITH, AR—Whirlpool has reached a resolution with property owners in a class-action lawsuit related to contaminated groundwater near the company’s former assembly plant here.
RIVULET, MT—Boeing Co. has sent technicians to the site of a train derailment here that dumped six 737 fuselages and other aircraft components into a Montana river as they were being transported to a Washington state assembly plant.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. economy added a robust 288,000 new jobs last month—the fifth straight month in which the United States has added more than 200,000 jobs. The unemployment rate now stands at 6.1 percent, the lowest since September 2008.
MILWAUKEE—Harley-Davidson has introduced its first electric motorcycle, the LiveWire, this month. The company is taking several dozen riders on a 30-city tour to test drive the bikes and provide feedback.
LONDON—Impressive growth figures for the global manufacturing sector during June were released today. The overall Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index hit a four-month high.
CHICAGO—Led by improvements in the manufacturing sector, the Midwest Economy Index increased to +0.41 in May from +0.11 in April, reaching its highest level since December 2013, according to the Chicago Fed.