SAN ANTONIO—Noting that 10 percent of the vehicles produced at Toyota’s assembly plant here are exported, Chris Nielsen, a senior vice president for the automaker, urged Texas lawmakers to support Trade Promotion Authority for the president of the United States.

BASSETT, VA—Bassett Furniture is producing furniture here for the first time since May 2007. The company has opened a new assembly plant to make chairs, tables, fixtures and cabinets.

MACUNGIE, PA—The Mack Trucks assembly plant here is among the sites helping Volvo Group North America achieve its goal of reduced energy consumption under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Better Plants Challenge five years earlier than expected.

FORT WAYNE, IN—GM will spend $1.2 billion to revamp its pickup truck assembly plant here. Plans call for improving the paint shop, expanding the body shop, and upgrading the assembly area.

GAINESVILLE, GA—Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. plans to increase production capacity the U.S. by building a 502,000-square-foot assembly plant and expanding its existing operations here.

DETROIT—A protracted labor dispute that slowed the shipment of products through ports on the West Coast has forced some West Michigan manufacturers to rethink their just-in-time production model.

PORTAGE, IN—Fronius USA has invested more than $1.5 million in its assembly plant here to make inverters for solar power.

CAMBRIDGE, ON—Just two months ago, efforts by the Canadian union Unifor to organize two Toyota Motor Corp. plants in Ontario had all but ground to a halt. But an April announcement that Toyota will move production of the Corolla from its 27-year-old plant here to a new factory to be built in Mexico ignited fears of job cuts. Now, the Unifor campaign is springing back to life.

DETROIT—Automotive suppliers that have quality relationships with OEMs are more willing to give price concessions, share technology and offer support beyond what contracts stipulate, according to a new report on automaker-supplier relations.