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With CHIPS Act money, the Biden administration bets an old plant can make new chips

Mar 26, 2024
A Vermont facility built in the 1950s is getting a shot at making semiconductors for smartphones and electric vehicles.
A 1950s-era facility built by IBM and now owned by GlobalFoundries is set to receive upgrades, funded partly by $125 million from the CHIPS Act.
Henry Epp/Marketplace

Forward-looking economic indicators turn positive

Mar 22, 2024
The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index turned positive in February for the first time since February 2022. That's a sign that the economy will avoid a recession this year, even if it slows down.
Stock prices, manufacturing orders, credit availability and other indicators all give us hints about future economic activity.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Some manufacturers may ramp up inventories this year

Mar 11, 2024
Businesses have spent the last year and a half trying to whittle down excess inventories. Some businesses still have work to do, but others are likely to build those inventories up this year.
If manufacturers do ramp up production, it would be the first expansion the sector has seen in 17 months.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Falling aircraft sales pull down durable goods orders, but there's more to the story

Feb 27, 2024
"It's by no means anywhere near as awful as the headline number makes it look," one analyst says.
“We had this extraordinary circumstance of an airplane having its door ripped off in mid-air” that skewed overall durable goods data, says John Diamond of Rice University.
J. David Ake/Getty Images

Amid disappointing manufacturing figures, one bright spot emerges

Feb 16, 2024
Economist say the rise in high-tech manufacturing — of things like semiconductors and circuit boards — in the U.S. bolsters national security.
While manufacturing fell in January, high tech manufacturing of semiconductors and circuit boards rose by more than 20%.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

After a tough year, manufacturing has reasons to be hopeful

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

Businesses are spending to boost productivity, regardless of higher interest rates

Dec 22, 2023
Some are doing well enough that they don't need to borrow in order to expand and improve.
Core capital goods, which are big, one-off investments to improve productivity and boost the bottom line, rose 0.8% last month.
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For public good, not for profit.

Manufacturing sector contracts for 13th straight month, but construction spending is up

Dec 1, 2023
The Institute for Supply Management’s Purchasing Managers Index showed worse-than-expected performance for manufacturing, but construction growth shone.
“The housing market is poised for gains for 2024," said Danushka Nanayakkara at the National Association of Home Builders.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

The scariest part of Halloween: supply chains

Oct 2, 2023
Consumers may spend a record $12.2 billion this year — that's the treat. But sellers may need tricks to bring their goods to market.
Analysts expect monster Halloween sales this year.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Why does furniture fall apart so easily?

Sep 27, 2023
Furniture used to last a lifetime. Now, not so much. But how did we get here?
"A great place to buy long-lasting furniture is a vintage furniture store, right? The proof is in the pudding that it's well made because it's lasting long enough for you to be able to purchase it right now," said Washington Post reporter Rachel Kurzius.
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