WASHINGTON—U.S. factory production rose in December for the second straight month, buoyed by more output of autos, electronics and business equipment.

CLEVELAND—The CNH tractor assembly plant in Wichita, KS, and the Ethicon medical device assembly plant in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, are among six U.S. factories picked as IndustryWeek’s “Best Plants.”

WASHINGTON—Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have developed an instrument that identifies silicon wafers that are too fragile to make it through the photovoltaic manufacturing process.

CLEVELAND—Metal-forming companies expect a spike in business during the next three months, according to the latest business conditions report from the Precision Metalforming Association.

BEIJING—Air pollution levels were literally off the charts here over the weekend, reportedly reducing visibility to about 100 yards in some areas and prompting some flight cancellations. Residents in several Chinese cities have been advised to stay indoors, and at least four deaths have been blamed on the smog.

DETROIT—Actor Danny Glover has joined supporters of unionization for workers at Nissan’s assembly plant in Mississippi demonstrating outside the North American International Auto Show.

CLYDE, OH—Whirlpool’s washing machine assembly plant here is one of many U.S. factories that have benefited from a growing wave of reshoring.

SILAO, Mexico—Volkswagen has opened a new engine assembly plant here. The plant will have a maximum annual capacity of 330,000 engines.

CANTON, MS—Nissan will begin producing the Murano at its assembly plant here by 2014. The automaker has set a goal of manufacturing 85 percent of the vehicles it sells in the United States in North America.

SAN DIEGO—Space Micro, a manufacturer of radiation-hardened electronic products for spacecraft and military applications, has expanded its assembly plant here, doubling the size of its clean room and environmental qualification testing space.