Manufacturing

Manufacturing sector news can be a leading indicator for supply chain managers looking for information about supplier capacity, production challenges, inventory tactics, and other operations trends. Are you a manufacturing executive looking for further coverage of the sector? See our sister publication manufacturingdive.com.

  • Brain Artificial Intelligence Chip
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    BlackJack3D via Getty Images
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    Tracking tariffs: The latest frontier in AI

    Several technology vendors are rolling out new tools to help retailers and manufacturers track the impact of tariffs on their supply costs and improve decision-making. 

    By Nathan Owens • April 30, 2025
  • Ford vehicles sit on a dealership lot in Austin, Texas, on April 18, 2025.
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    Trump tariffs

    Trump softens tariffs on auto parts for US-assembled cars

    The president will allow automakers to offset some costs while clarifying that potentially overlapping tariffs on Canada, Mexico, steel and aluminum will not stack.

    By • April 29, 2025
  • Volvo Semi Tractor Trailer Big Rig Truck display at a dealership.
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    jetcityimage via Getty Images
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    Volvo Group truck sales fall amid tariff uncertainty

    The truck manufacturer lowered its North American market sales forecast as higher duties shake the marketplace.

    By • April 29, 2025
  • Ford Michigan Van Dyke Powertrain Center Sterling Heights Michigan
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    Provided by Ford Motor Co. 

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    Tariffs could spike costs for domestic automakers by $108B

    A new report estimates that higher import duties on automotive parts will impact nearly all of the 17.7 million vehicles built in the U.S. annually.

    By Kalena Thomhave • April 29, 2025
  • A worker at NorthCape, an outdoor furniture manufacturer, sews personal protective equipment on March 30, 2020 in Alsip, Illinois. Covid-19 has transformed how manufacturers operate five years later.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    How COVID-19 changed US manufacturing: 5 years later

    After the chaos of the pandemic, manufacturers learned to lean into supplier relationships and supply chain resiliency to avoid future disruptions.

    By Nathan Owens • April 28, 2025
  • Various sizes and shapes of disposable food pans and trays made from foil.
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    Nordroden via Getty Images
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    Duties coming on aluminum containers from China following US trade ruling

    The U.S. Department of Commerce will issue antidumping and countervailing duty orders for these imports.

    By Katie Pyzyk • April 28, 2025
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    "Yantian port from above" by Gigel.atat is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Trade data series

    What does the US import from China?

    Over $400 billion worth of goods were imported from China in 2024, with electronics, toys, furniture and machinery topping the list.

    By • April 25, 2025
  • A sign spelling Roche hangs on the side of a building.
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    Sedat Suna via Getty Images
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    Roche, answering tariff threat, pledges $50B to US drug production

    The pharmaceutical company joined several of its peers in committing to invest billions of dollars in new and expanded manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

    By Jonathan Gardner • April 25, 2025
  • Rows of undulating solar panels in a field.
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    Jason Doiy via Getty Images
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    Commerce finalizes tariff rates on solar imports from Southeast Asia

    The 3,403.96% rate set on four exporters in Cambodia is “among the highest rates I’ve ever seen,” said American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing Trade Committee attorney Tim Brightbill.

    By Diana DiGangi • April 24, 2025
  • Nissan Smyrna Tennessee plant production line
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    Provided by Nissan Motor Co. 

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    Auto groups: US tariff policies ‘will scramble the global automotive supply chain’

    In a letter to the Trump administration, industry leaders say recent actions will increase costs and eliminate jobs.

    By • April 23, 2025
  • Boxed Funko Pop figurines stacked
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    Frazer Harrison via Getty Images
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    Funko hires supply chain SVP

    Cliff Engle will oversee the company’s global distribution and logistics operations as it implements tariff mitigation strategies.

    By • April 22, 2025
  • A vessel full of containers traveling through a European waterway.
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    Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
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    Trade data series

    Who are the United States’ top trading partners?

    Explore how over 200 countries’ imports, exports and trade balances with the U.S. last year stack up in this sortable chart.

    By • April 22, 2025
  • A yellowish building with a body of water in front of it, and a hill with a excavator parked in the middle.
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    Courtesy of JCB
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    JCB plans San Antonio factory expansion to dodge Trump’s tariffs

    The U.K.-based heavy machinery manufacturer said the levies will impact its business in the short term.

    By • April 22, 2025
  • Nvidia President and CEO Jensen Huang speaks about the future of artificial intelligence and its effect on energy consumption and production at the Bipartisan Policy Center on Sept. 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.
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    Chip Somodevilla / Staff via Getty Images
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    Nvidia to spend $500B to manufacture AI chips in US

    The chipmaker will work with TSMC, Foxconn, Amkor and others to produce its Blackwell chip and other AI infrastructure in Arizona and Texas.

    By • April 21, 2025
  • Donald Trump stands in front of cardboard boxes at a Whirlpool factory.
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    Scott Olson via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    Trump’s tariffs aim to reverse decades of manufacturing decline. Will they succeed?

    While major firms like TSMC and Nvidia have announced massive U.S. investment in recent weeks, experts are skeptical the policies will lead to a widespread revitalization of domestic manufacturing.

    By • April 18, 2025
  • donald trump signs an executive order at his desk
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump administration ordered to resume IRA funding

    The decision, which stated federal agencies lacked authority to pause funding, follows the president’s executive order to freeze the money on his first day in office. 

    By • April 17, 2025
  • Commercial trucks cross the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge into the United States on Feb. 4, 2025, in Niagara Falls, Canada.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Canada grants limited reprieve on auto tariffs

    The country will allow a certain amount of U.S.-assembled cars to be imported duty-free provided companies maintain domestic production and investment levels. 

    By • Updated April 22, 2025
  • A worker uses a shovel to move the raw material for the manufacture of lithium carbonate at the Llipi pilot Planton August 14, 2022 in Uyuni, Bolivia.
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    Gaston Brito Miserocchi via Getty Images
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    Trump orders Section 232 probe of critical minerals

    Similar investigations into other industries have been a precursor to sector-specific tariffs from the U.S., which wants to boost its domestic rare earth supply.

    By • April 16, 2025
  • Someone stands to left of a store window with a white neon sign that reads "The Levi's Tailor Shop San Francisco."
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    Daphne Howland/Supply Chain Dive
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    Levi’s says any tariff-related price bumps will be ‘surgical’

    Chief Financial and Growth Officer Harmit Singh this month said the last time the company faced a similarly murky challenge was during the pandemic.

    By Daphne Howland • April 16, 2025
  • Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House on March 24, 2025.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    US launches probe into semiconductor imports

    The Section 232 investigation comes ahead of anticipated tariffs on the industry.

    By • April 14, 2025
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Trump tariffs

    US launches probe that could set stage for pharma tariffs

    The Commerce Department has begun a Section 232 investigation into the national security effects of the U.S. importing pharmaceuticals and their starting materials.

    By Ned Pagliarulo • April 14, 2025
  • An aerial view of an oil refinery, fuel storage tanks and a boat on port.
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    CHUNYIP WONG via Getty Images
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    Trump’s tariffs spare various chemicals

    The exemption list also includes certain critical minerals, semiconductor components and energy products.

    By • April 14, 2025
  • A Foxconn employee walks outside the factory complex holding a smartphone in one hand and a work ID badge in the other, with the manufacturing facility visible in the background, on April 12, 2025 in Shenzhen, China.
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    Cheng Xin via Getty Images
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    Trump tariffs

    Trump excludes some electronics from reciprocal tariffs

    Smartphones and electronic integrated circuits, among other products, now qualify for the “semiconductor” exemption — though officials say sector-specific duties are still coming.

    By • Updated April 14, 2025
  • A sign spelling Novartis hangs on the side of an office building.
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    Veronique D via Getty Images
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    Amid tariff turmoil, Novartis commits to spending $23B on US manufacturing

    Novartis expects the new capacity will allow it to produce all of its key medicines “end to end” in the U.S., as the Trump administration buffets global trade with tariffs.

    By Jonathan Gardner • April 11, 2025
  • A person in a tuxedo speaks at a podium.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump says ‘major’ tariffs coming on pharmaceuticals

    The president said the new duties would “come shortly” in a speech on Tuesday, potentially joining levies specific to other sectors such as cars and auto parts.

    By Kristin Jensen • April 10, 2025