SHAWNEE, KS—E.C. Manufacturing, a manufacturer of small, advanced electrical components, is building a new, $6 million assembly plant here. The facility is expected to create 252 new jobs over the next three years.

BOWLING GREEN, KY—For the first time, the GM’s Corvette assembly plant will also produce some of the high-performance engines for the sports car.

WESTBOROUGH, MA—Contract manufacturer Columbia Tech has opened a new assembly plant here.

SHELBY, NC—KSM Castings NC Inc. will invest more than $45 million in its first U.S. manufacturing facility here, creating 189 jobs over five years.

WASHINGTON—Factory orders increased in December even though companies trimmed orders for the goods that signal investment plans. The Commerce Department says factory orders rose 1.8 percent in December from November, when orders had fallen 0.3 percent.

THREE RIVERS, MI—American Axle & Manufacturing is investing more than $100 million in its assembly plant here, creating more than 500 new jobs.

HARRISBURG, PA—Workers at the Ames True Temper wheelbarrow assembly plant here are urging Monopoly fans to keep the wheelbarrow token as part of the iconic board game.

NEW YORK—The Dow industrials topped 14,000 for the first time since 2007, capping their fifth-straight weekly gain, following encouraging data on U.S. jobs and manufacturing.

DEARBORN, MI—Profit-sharing checks of approximately $8,300 will be sent to Ford Motor Co. hourly workers around the nation March 14. The checks are in response to the $8 billion in profit Ford’s North American operations earned last year.