Know What's Happening in Manufacturing
Know What's Happening in Manufacturing
Japan launches $6.3B push to capture 30% of global physical AI robotics market
Japan is committing roughly $6.3 billion to accelerate AI‑powered robotics, targeting a 30% share of the global physical AI market by 2040. The initiative responds to a 14‑year population decline and a shrinking workforce, positioning robots as essential for factories, warehouses and critical infrastructure.
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By the numbers: BlackRock acquires 5% stake in Samsung Heavy Industries
Chinese AI and graphics chip makers have surged in 2025, capturing 41% of the domestic AI server market and cutting Nvidia's share to 55% from a claimed 95% peak. Huawei alone shipped over 812,000 AI chips, accounting for roughly half of all Chinese shipments, while Alibaba, Baidu and Cambricon also posted sizable volumes. The gap left by Nvidia’s delayed H200 and China‑specific H20 GPUs has opened the inference segment to homegrown alternatives that approach Nvidia’s performance. Government subsidies and mandated deployments are accelerating China’s push for a self‑sufficient AI compute supply chain.
Food manufacturers are turning to AI to overcome pandemic‑induced supply chain volatility, especially for perishable goods. CookUnity, a chef‑to‑consumer meal subscription service, now uses AI to lift its sales‑forecast accuracy from roughly 55% to 80‑90%, enabling precise, temperature‑controlled deliveries. The...
At Cosmopack 2026, Marchesini Group Beauty unveiled the Turbo‑Mek 150, a Turbo‑emulsifier equipped with its in‑house Turbo 3D technology. The system features a patent‑pending adjustable rotor‑stator gap that can be tuned in real time to match different formula phases, cutting cycle times...
China’s exposure to the loss of Middle East LNG China will likely reduce its liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in response to the loss of supplies from the Middle East and higher spot prices mostly by curbing gas-fired power generation and...
Fincantieri Marine Group, Fraser Shipyards and Donjon Marine have formed a Great Lakes shipbuilding alliance to pursue a U.S. Coast Guard contract for seven new light icebreakers. The partnership leverages Fincantieri’s three regional shipyards and invites additional Great Lakes firms...
Mercedes-Benz announced a $4 billion investment to expand its Vance, Alabama plant by 2030, marking the site’s 5 million‑vehicle production milestone since 1997. The facility assembles a mix of GLE, GLS, AMG, Maybach, and all‑electric EQ models, with 60% of output destined...
RS has partnered with HMS Networks to offer Red Lion industrial networking solutions tailored for oil and gas operations across the value chain. The portfolio includes FlexEdge IIoT gateways, N‑Tron Ethernet switches, and Graphite HMIs, all engineered for extreme temperatures,...
PERC (mono) solar modules jumped 20% in the United States, reaching $0.33 per watt between November 2025 and February 2026, while the overall average module price barely moved to $0.285/W. In contrast, TOPCon modules slipped to $0.28/W, making them cheaper than PERC...
Kardex installed a high‑density AutoStore automated storage and retrieval system at WEG Electric Corp’s Duluth, Georgia headquarters to address growing small‑parts inventory without expanding the building footprint. The solution includes 14,000 bins, seven R5 robots and three picking ports, all...
Integral Coach Factory (ICF) announced a new production record for FY 2025‑26, rolling out 3,405 passenger coaches – a 13% increase over the previous year. The milestone includes the 80,000th coach ever built at ICF, setting a global benchmark for a...
Master Boat Builders has delivered the tugboat Jill, the sixth vessel in its RApport 2800 series and the second built for Gulf LNG Tugs of Port Arthur. The 92‑foot, 40‑foot beam tug boasts over 85 metric‑ton bollard pull and ABS FFV1 firefighting...
HIMA Group announced the opening of new facilities in Lima, Peru on March 3 and Bogotá, Colombia on March 5, expanding its Latin American footprint. The sites will deliver safety automation, engineering, commissioning and after‑sales services to oil, gas, chemical and petrochemical...
Researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo have demonstrated a 2.4 GHz Wi‑Fi receiver that survives up to 500 kilograys of gamma radiation, a level far beyond what space‑qualified electronics can tolerate. The hardened chip, presented at ISSCC, kept functional performance with...
FDH Aero has launched FDHElectronics.com, a dedicated e‑commerce site for its FDH Electronics division serving the mil‑aero market. The platform aggregates the company’s interconnect, wire, cable and electromechanical product lines into a single, searchable catalog. Designed with direct customer input,...
The 2021 Oldsmar water‑treatment hack exposed how connected operational technology (OT) can be weaponised, highlighting the stark contrast between OT and traditional IT security. In OT, availability outweighs confidentiality, because a brief outage can trigger safety incidents or regional blackouts....
Morocco’s OCP Group announced accelerated maintenance that will curtail up to 30% of its second‑quarter production capacity. The shutdown affects key fertilizer lines, including DAP, MAP and TSP, after the firm cited tightening supplies of sulphur and ammonia. Last year...
Creality has filed a patent for a compact filament cutter integrated directly into a 3D printer's printhead, aiming to streamline material swaps. The blade pivots around a shaft parallel to the filament path and uses the printer's existing gantry motion...
Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub, sold 56.2 million metric tons of bunker fuel in 2025, a 3.2% increase year‑over‑year. Over half of its fuel imports travel through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed since the Middle East...
MAN Truck & Bus has begun series production of its fully electric Lion’s City E bus at the Ankara plant, adding a third global e‑bus manufacturing site after Poland and South Africa. The model, with about 3,300 units already delivered across...
CTG, a Cegeka Group company, will unveil Project GLORIA at MODEX 2026 in Atlanta, an air‑gapped AI platform that delivers role‑specific operational insights without using public cloud services. The solution, proven in a large food‑and‑beverage warehouse, transforms fragmented data and...
EnerVenue announced a $300 million Series B extension and the appointment of veteran executive Henning Rath as CEO. The funding, led by Full Vision Capital and backed by Hong Kong’s Investment Corporation, will fuel large‑scale manufacturing and a new regional headquarters in...
For you Sandisk'ers $SNDK China's YMTC, having caught up to Korea, secures yield for cutting-edge NAND flash and begins full-scale production expansion. With the launch of a new line equipped with state-of-the-art equipment imminent and mass production of 300-layer high-stacking NAND stabilizing, and rumors...
Detroit automakers fear an onslaught of low-cost, high-tech Chinese cars if Trump allows them to be built in the US. Not/not "cheap"....affordable... https://t.co/RL6s942EcW
SANY Robotics unveiled its full electric forklift lineup at LogiMAT 2026 in Stuttgart, marking its first European market entry. The showcase featured a three‑wheel lithium‑ion counterbalance model for narrow aisles and cold storage, plus the Blue Electric Forklift Fleet with...
iAutomation announced it has become an authorized reseller of Festo’s pneumatic and electric automation products throughout the Mid‑Atlantic and Southeast United States. The partnership adds Festo’s high‑performance components to iAutomation’s portfolio, enabling the distributor to offer expanded engineering, panel‑building, and...
6K Additive, Inc. secured a Phase II contract worth US$1.95 million from the Defense Logistics Agency, launching an 18‑month program to upcycle domestic military scrap into high‑value metal powders. The initiative, “Recovering Strategic Value,” will convert nickel, titanium, tungsten and niobium from...
Tyson Foods announced the shutdown of its prepared‑foods plant in Rome, Georgia, citing the single‑customer model as no longer viable. The closure follows a broader restructuring that includes the recent Nebraska beef‑plant shutdown and a shift toward higher‑margin chicken operations....
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) warns that the United Kingdom is falling behind its G7 peers in business investment and manufacturing intensity. Private sector investment totals just 11.1% of GDP, the second‑lowest among the group, while capital intensity...
The ClockEdge webinar highlighted a hidden crisis in sub‑5 nm chip design: excessive guard‑banding caused by modeling uncertainty, which can strip 25‑35% of the clock period and cut performance‑per‑area (PPA) by up to 35%. Dave Johnson explained the “abstraction tax” and...
The first seven Australian‑built Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicles (CRVs) have rolled off Rheinmetall Defence Australia’s Redbank plant. The programme calls for 211 Boxers, including 133 CRVs, to replace the aging ASLAV fleet under LAND 400 Phase 2. A parallel contract to produce...
Packaging Corporation of America (PCA) will close its full‑line converting plant in Richmond, Virginia, affecting 110 employees in June 2026. The shutdown follows a similar capacity reduction in Wallula, Washington, where 200 jobs were eliminated earlier this year. PCA plans...
Volvo Trucks North America announced a $1.2 billion investment, allocating $500 million to expand its New River Valley plant and $700 million for a new facility in Monterrey, Mexico. The spend aims to shield the company from cross‑border tariffs and prepare for the...
Apetito, the German ready‑meals provider, secured planning approval for a new UK production site dubbed Kitchen West in Trowbridge. The factory will be built on the former Pie Site adjacent to the existing Mill Site, with construction slated to begin...
Reju has secured a €135 million (≈ $147 million) Dutch state grant for its polyester regeneration hub, a project with a total capital outlay estimated between €350 million and €400 million (≈ $382‑$436 million). The hub, to be built at Chemelot Industrial Park, aims for a final...
World Fuel Services and West Coast Clean Fuels have launched a U.S.‑wide methanol bunkering capability after a successful pilot in South Florida. The service uses Coast Guard‑approved procedures, trained crews and purpose‑built equipment to deliver methanol directly from trucks to...
In this episode, John Deere’s Anthony Stosinski outlines the 2027 planter upgrades, highlighting Exact Depth control from the cab, FurrowVision imaging, and automated downforce adjustments to improve emergence and residue management. He also explains the new dual‑product fertilizer system that...
Rivian reported producing 10,236 electric vehicles and delivering 10,365 units in Q1 2026, slightly above its Q4 2025 output. The figures align with the company’s reaffirmed 2026 delivery guidance of 62,000‑67,000 vehicles. Rivian also highlighted a strategic partnership with Uber that could...
The Fraunhofer IPA‑led ‘Difference’ project targets the low recyclability of Cell‑to‑Pack (CTP) battery designs, which replace traditional modules with directly integrated cells. By focusing on robot‑assisted, laser‑based disassembly, the consortium aims to separate adhesives, foams and metals efficiently. The initiative,...
CMA CGM inaugurated its standalone weekly Japan‑North Europe Ocean Rise service on 2 April 2026, marked by the arrival of the 8,000‑teu CMA CGM Tosca in Kobe. The route, designed for Japan’s exporters, will eventually operate 14 vessels averaging 9,000 teu, offering transit times of 38 days...
U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran have tightened the Strait of Hormuz blockade, cutting off a key east‑west artery that handles roughly 10% of global pharmaceutical shipments. Temperature‑controlled ingredients, which make up about 20% of those flows, are especially vulnerable,...
Former steelworkers in Northwest Indiana, now members of Gary Advocates for Responsible Development, are urging a shift from coal‑based integrated mills to cleaner direct‑reduced‑iron (DRI) and electric furnace technologies. A joint report by Indiana University and 5 Lakes Energy estimates...
Amazon announced a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) services, effective April 17 for U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil and expanding on May 2 to Buy with Prime and Multi‑Channel Fulfillment. The charge translates to roughly...
Cotton yarn prices in Tirupur jumped Rs 10‑12 per kilogram (US$0.11‑0.13) on the first day of the new fiscal year, extending a series of hikes of Rs 7 per kilogram in February and March. The price of a candy (356 kg) of cotton...
Japan glassmakers Asahi Kasei, AGC retool to ride surging AI chip demand Glass cloth, high-end substrates replace conventional products https://t.co/zHaNaxaWTa via @NikkeiAsia
"Those jobs and factories haven’t materialized, at least on the grand scale the president and his top advisers have promised." "Even if... there are some sectors that have positive employment effects, the effect for most people is going to be higher...
Robert Allan Ltd., partnering with Brazil’s Indústria Naval Catarinense Ltda., unveiled the RApide 1800 pushboat design for Transpetro’s bunkering operations. The 18.7‑meter vessel, 9.2 meters wide, features twin 450 kW Z‑drive thrusters and is classed by Bureau Veritas to meet NORMAM‑202/DPC inland navigation...
China’s No 3 foundry Nexchip files for Hong Kong listing to scale output Wave of Chinese tech listings builds in Hong Kong as semiconductor groups plan expansion to meet domestic demand... https://t.co/rcA6r9CkE2 via @scmpnews
Since late 2025, a global RAM shortage has emerged as leading chipmakers pivoted to higher‑margin AI data‑center memory, curtailing production for smartphones, PCs and other consumer devices. In Q4 2025, demand outstripped supply by roughly 10%, pushing RAM prices up...
Sundaram Brake Linings Limited’s Plant II in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, caught fire at 5:25 am on Thursday, causing approximately ₹2.66 crore (about $320,000) in damages. The blaze was contained quickly, and no injuries were reported, but the affected production line has been shut down...
Stellantis is in early talks with Chinese EV maker Leapmotor to revive its underused Brampton, Ontario plant, which has left about 3,000 union workers idle after U.S. tariffs forced a Jeep SUV shift to the United States. The discussions follow...
