WASHINGTON--The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that the United States added 196,000 factory jobs in 2017, including 25,000 jobs in December. Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, says that factory jobs are growing at a faster rate than jobs in the overall economy.

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC--According to a permit application filed last week with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, Mercedes-Benz Vans plans to ramp up production of its Sprinter commercial vehicles in three phases at its campus here.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis.--Foxconn Technology Group (FTG) has made its first financial commitment for a planned flat-panel plant in Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., known as FTG outside of Taiwan, on Friday deposited $60 million to special bank accounts in Wisconsin. The money is to be used by the village and Racine County to buy land for the $10 billion flat-panel plant, the construction of which is to begin next month.

SPOKANE-–Greater Spokane Inc. and Spokane International Airport say they are forming a task force to attract the design, production and final assembly of Boeing’s new midsize airplane. Boeing’s proposed new airplane is called the NMA, and the company plans to announce the launch of the project in 2018.

QINGDAO, China--Earlier this month, the New York-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) announced a proposal to develop an international mass customization standard led by Chinese electronics manufacturer Haier at the National Engineering and Scientific Commission conference. It is the first international standard created by IEEE based on the model, and to serve as its technical framework since the organization was launched more than 50 years ago.

CHATTANOOGA, TN--A Volkswagen spokesman recently indicated that this city would be the likely location for its new electric vehicle plant.

HEMERAJ, Thailand--Responding to a booming automotive market, Bosch plans to open a new plant for injection technology here. It is the first smart factory in Thailand, and the second Bosch Mobility Solutions plant there.

WASHINGTON--New orders for manufactured goods fell 0.1 percent in October from the month before, according to a report from the Commerce Department on Monday, but that was better than the 0.4 percent decline expected in a consensus estimate from analysts. This latest performance followed an upwardly revised September hike of 1.7 percent.

LAFAYETTE, IN--Subaru of Indiana Automotive unveiled its new Subaru Ascent, which will be manufactured at the automaker’s assembly plant here. To support the increased production, the company plans to create up to 200 new jobs by 2018.

COLOGNE, Germany--Visual management techniques inspired by Ford Motor Co. are being used at Europe’s biggest cancer-treatment facility here, while the hospital’s big-data techniques are helping the automaker design future vehicles.