ORRVILLE, OH—Morgan Truck Body, a manufacturer of light- and medium-duty truck bodies, is opening a new manufacturing facility here with the capability to produce a combined 4,000 dry freight and refrigerated truck bodies for retail and fleet customers annually. Morgan expects to employ 140 team members at the facility.

GARDENA, CA—Faced with a slowdown in business and rising production costs, furniture maker Jonathan Louis International Ltd. plans to terminate the night shift at its two manufacturing and assembly facilities here, a move that will result in 329 layoffs.

WASHINGTON, DC—Ahead of its 125th anniversary and the 2020 elections, the National Association of Manufacturers recenty announced a member-driven campaign to raise at least $10 million for the newly established “Creators Wanted Fund” to inspire and drive 600,000 Americans to pursue careers in modern manufacturing within the next six years.

ST. CHARLES, IL–Dukane, a leader in plastic welding, recently announced the acquisition of Blackhawk Technology Group, a systems, services, and contract manufacturer for laser plastic welding.

CAMDEN, AR—Lockheed Martin says it is spending $142 million and hiring 326 new workers over the next few years as it expands its south Arkansas facility.

DETROIT—Ford Motor Co. recently announced that it will eliminate about 20 percent of its workforce across Europe and close six factories in a sweeping overhaul aimed at reviving the money-losing region as the company also moves to prepare for the future of electric and self-driving cars.

WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Commerce Department recently barred five additional Chinese entities from buying American-made products, a move that follows the similar blacklisting of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in May.

BARCELONA, Spain–HP Inc. recently opened the doors to its 3D Printing and Digital Manufacturing Center of Excellence here.

CHICAGO—China-based CRRC Sifang America has begun to implement its $1.3 billion contract to build more than 800 new 700-series trains for the Chicago Transit Authority at a $100 million factory on the city's far south side.

AACHEN, Germany—Automotive 5G manufacturing production has begun here by GO Mobile AG, enabled by 5G connectivity from Ericsson and Vodafone Germany. The technology delivers secure and almost real-time data networking across the full production chain.