WASHINGTON—The Institute for Supply Management index, from a survey that aims to capture manufacturing business conditions, increased to 59.3 from 57.7, data showed Monday. The factory gauge remains elevated, signaling that corporate tax cuts and consumer strength continue to drive demand and expansion.
LISBON, Portugal—Airbus S.E. delivered the first of its A330neo widebody aircraft to TAP Air Portugal here last week. The A330-900 jet is the first of 20 to be supplied to the carrier in the coming year.
PALO ALTO, CA—Despite the widespread fear that robots will be taking over the factory floor, new data recently released by A.T. Kearney and Drishti show that humans still perform 72 percent of manufacturing tasks.
EVERETT, WA—Boeing recently announced that the major fuselage sections of the first 777X test aircraft have been joined together. This assembly milestone, called the final body join, occurs when the airplane’s nose, mid and aft sections are connected.
MARLBOROUGH, MA—Boston Scientific Corp. has agreed to buy rival BTG Corp. for $4.2 billion to expand its offering of medical devices to treat cancer and other disorders. Boston Scientific makes stents that hold open damaged blood vessels. BTG makes medical technology for physicians, such as cryoablation products to freeze and destroy diseased cells, and radiotherapy that delivers radiation straight to tumors.
DETROIT—General Motors said Monday that it will cut 15 percent of its salaried workforce, estimated to be around 14,700 people in North America, and that it will idle factories in Michigan, Ohio, Maryland and Canada.
MOBILE, AL—Airbus has hired construction management firm HPM to plan, design and build a new assembly plant here to produce A220 aircraft. The new facility will be located adjacent to Airbus’ existing factory in Mobile.
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC—The Cummins Inc. factory here assembled its 5 millionth turbocharger earlier this month, marking a milestone at the plant, which is on track for a record year of production.