Manufacturing

Booming Space Industry Weathers Turbulent Coronavirus Economy SpaceX launches two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. Despite concerns over coronavirus, Florida's space industry moves forward. Photo: NASA Stay up to date on coronavirus coverage: Listen to WMFE on your radio, the WMFE mobile app or your smart speaker — say “Alexa, play NPR” or “WMFE” and you’ll be connected. When astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken launched from Kennedy Space Center last month, NASA and SpaceX made history. It was the first human launch from the U.S. since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 — and...

While nothing can replace an in-person connection, online conventions have their pluses — from reduced costs to easier access to guest speakers. While there are upsides to all-digital events, they can’t replace the income for local businesses in cities who have lost a convention. Kirby Lee / AP file June 17, 2020, 10:26 AM CDT By Ben Popken Small signs of optimism are returning to the $100 billion convention industry. After two months of declines, more convention and meeting planners now say they’re starting to source and book future events, according to a survey by Northstar Meeting Group. As of mid-May, just one-third...

How is Covid-19 impacting supply chains in Mexico? While the Covid-19 pandemic has broken 720,000 cases and led to almost 34,000 deaths globally as of 29th March, Mexico – which has the world’s 10th-largest population, at 127m – has reported 993 cases and 20 deaths.   To date the country’s response has been one of tempered caution. Domestic and international flights continue to operate, albeit less regularly, and inbound travellers from countries with high levels of infection, such as the US, China and Italy, are still permitted to enter.   Social and economic restrictions vary by state, but on March 23 the...

Coronavirus Pandemic Threatens Semiconductor Industry Recovery Just as the semiconductor industry was poised to spring back from a cyclical downturn, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is threatening its recovery. Some segments of the semiconductor industry remain healthy, such as those exposed to cloud-computing data centers, analysts say. Other segments, such as consumer electronics and automotive, are at greater risk from negative impacts from the pandemic and any resulting recession, they say. This week, Wall Street analysts have been picking which chip stocks are best and worst positioned in the current environment. "We are concerned that global chip shipments might be impacted...

Special A3 Report: Signs of Hope for Manufacturing Amid the Coronavirus Crisis by John Gallagher, Special to A3 The Association for Advancing Automation asked former Detroit Free Press Business Columnist John Gallagher to examine the state of manufacturing during the coronavirus crisis. Here’s his special report for A3: The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered a gut punch to American manufacturing. But the picture, while grim, is by no means the catastrophe of our worst fears. Factories have idled or slowed production to allow deep cleaning and to protect workers. Supply chains have been disrupted. Shortages of products from medical supplies to,...