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Manufacturing Slows; Oil Town Turns to Wind; EV Battery Makers Migrate South
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A worker makes a car seat at a manufacturing facility in Hammond, Ind. PHOTO: JIM YOUNG/BLOOMBERG
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American manufacturing is showing signs of slowing after two years of strong growth. The WSJ’s David Harrison and Austen Hufford report higher interest rates and a slowdown in exports are threatening production. New orders for manufactured goods contracted for the sixth straight month through February, and manufacturing output is down 1.7% from its postpandemic peak in May 2022. Some sectors of manufacturing are experiencing a sharp pullback, while other factories have yet to feel a drop-off in demand. Production of appliances, furniture and carpeting was down almost 15% in January from the previous year, according to Federal Reserve data, as sales of previously owned homes fell. Yet car production hasn’t
fully recovered to 2019 levels as some manufacturers continue to struggle with supply-chain problems that are making it difficult to get all the parts they need. Other businesses are still working through stockpiles of excess inventories, which is slowing new orders.
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The Ljungstrom plant in Wellsville, N.Y. PHOTO: LAUREN PETRACCA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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The emerging market for renewable energy is reshaping manufacturing towns. A factory in a former oil town in upstate New York has pivoted to producing wind turbines and could serve as a model for other factory towns amid the nation’s shift to renewable energy. The WSJ’s Jimmy Vielkind reports the Ljungström factory in Wellsville has sold parts to coal-fired power plants for 100 years. Now, workers are welding hulking steel components of wind turbines that are set to rise out of the ocean east of Long Island. The pivot to wind has prompted plant managers to hire 150 more people and to consider reopening a facility that has been dormant for several years. More places with historical ties to
traditional energy markets may try their hand at renewables as the U.S. works to meet a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and as a new supply chain emerges around the materials.
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A new wave of car and battery factories in America is shifting the country’s automotive heartland further south, redistributing thousands of jobs. The Inflation Reduction Act has led to a building boom of electric-vehicle battery plants, creating what some are calling America’s battery belt. While the Midwest, particularly Michigan, has traditionally been the center of American auto manufacturing, many of these new plants are in the South. A WSJ video report explores why battery makers are choosing sites away from the Great Lakes.
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Electric-vehicle startups such as Rivian Automotive and Lucid Group are now producing vehicles but losses are mounting. (WSJ)
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Tesla lowered the prices of two of its most expensive models in the U.S. as the company tries to boost demand in a competitive market. (WSJ)
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Indonesia has started a subsidy program for electric cars to help win investment deals with EV makers such as Tesla and China’s BYD. (Nikkei Asia)
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Lordstown Motors says it had more than $220 million in cash at the end of the year as it grapples with production issues. (CNBC)
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$11,026
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Average daily rate for the largest dry-bulk capesize vessels on Monday, according to the Baltic Exchange, the first time the measure has been above $10,000 since mid-January.
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China's exports fell 6.8% in the first two months of the year from the same period a year ago. (WSJ)
Russia’s government budget plunged into a deeper deficit in February. (WSJ)
The U.S. is seeking formal consultations with Mexico over the country’s ban on imports of genetically modified American corn and other crops. (WSJ)
Norfolk Southern plans to add about 200 temperature detectors along its tracks in the aftermath of two major derailments in Ohio. (WSJ)
JetBlue Airways says it is bracing for the Justice Department to try to block the airline’s planned takeover of Spirit Airlines. (WSJ)
The United Arab Emirates has been taking more cargoes of Russian crude oil as Western sanctions on Russia shift traditional energy trade flows. (Reuters)
India is looking to expand imports of U.S. ethane. (Splash 247)
A supersize container ship ran aground Sunday in the Suez Canal and was quickly refloated. (Maritime Executive)
Trucker Roadrunner is expanding its less-than-truckload service area to Denver, Kansas City and Portland. (Transport Dive)
Discount retailer Ross Stores plans to open 100 new stores this year. (Chain Store Age)
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