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Factory

After a tough year, manufacturing has reasons to be hopeful

by Mitchell Hartman
Jan 5, 2024
Activity in the sector contracted last year, but federal investment is one of the factors that could make 2024 better.
The federal government has invested billions in infrastructure and clean energy production, which should give manufacturers a boost in 2024. Above, a wind turbine manufacturing facility.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
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Why more workers in China are ruling out factory jobs

by Jennifer Pak
Apr 17, 2023
Despite high unemployment among young people, most factories are short of workers. It might reflect false promises and poor conditions.
Production in progress at a factory in China's eastern Anhui province. Factory work has lost much of its popularity as a career choice. “The workers just don't trust factory owners,” one former employee said.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
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Allentown region moving on from the days when the steel industry collapsed

by Chloe Nouvelle
May 5, 2022
The Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania has a booming manufacturing sector and is fast becoming a major logistics hub.
Rusted blast furnaces at the SteelStacks campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania are seen. They now serve as a backdrop for music concerts.
Jessica Lee
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COVID-19

Manufacturing growth slows as workers get omicron

by Justin Ho
Jan 24, 2022
Sick time is taking a bite out of manufacturing. And now companies have to make up for it.
The manufacturing sector will have some catching up to do.
Ben Prunchie/Getty Images
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Peloton pedals into new territory with plans for Ohio factory

by Scott Tong
May 25, 2021
When the factory is scheduled to open in two years, will we still be exercising as much from home?
The company no longer plans to rely solely on suppliers in Asia, as demand for Peloton units in the pandemic surged and the company couldn’t keep up.
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
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Factory orders mixed with a dash of anxiety

by Scott Tong
Dec 5, 2018
Business orders for factory goods are not quite so robust as earlier this year, and that may show up in the numbers this month. But what’s not slowing down is consumer demand for manufactured stuff.  Click the audio player above to hear the full story.
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How does Adidas make shoes in days?

by Kai Ryssdal and Josie Fan
Mar 6, 2018
Making a pair of sneakers is a labor-intensive process, and it could take months. But Adidas is trying to change that. In its newly built Speedfactory in Germany, Adidas is making most parts of the shoes with machines. Marc Bain is a fashion reporter at Quartz and one of the first group of people who […]
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Denim makers are making jeans stretchier to get in on the athleisure market

by Andy Uhler
Aug 1, 2017
Jean sales dropped 4.5 percent in 2014 and 3.4 percent in 2015 but are on the upswing this year, thanks, in part, to stretchier fabrics.
“Comfort is a key attribute that consumers are looking for in their denim jeans," said Kara Nicholas, vice president of product design and marketing at Cone Denim.
Carsten Koall/Getty Images
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Way of life

Wood City: Cloquet, Minn., hopes to keep its identity after last matchstick factory closes

by Marketplace Contributor
Jul 14, 2017
The Diamond Match factory is one of three major wood products plants in Cloquet, Minn. But it’s slated to close later this summer, leaving Cloquet with a hole in both its history and economy.
Smokestacks at the Diamond match factory in Cloquet tower over a pile of wood. 
Dan Kraker for Marketplace
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More car makers announce billions of dollars in US investment: is this the Trump effect?

by Jed Kim
Jan 9, 2017
Fiat Chrysler has announced it’ll invest about $1 billion to improve two of its plants in the U.S. It’ll bring 2,000 jobs as well. This comes after news of other automakers changing their operating plans , like Ford canceling a factory in Mexico and investing in a Michigan plant. Of course, hanging over all of […]
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