Free Republic

Honda has announced it will produce its next-generation Civic hybrid in the United States instead of Mexico to avoid potential tariffs.Honda revealed that it plans to produce its next-generation Civic hybrid in Indiana.The change comes as Honda is bracing for President Trump’s proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada.Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, originally planned to manufacture the next-generation Civic in Guanajuato, Mexico.Production is slated to begin in May 2028 with an estimated production of 210,000 Civics.Honda decided to produce its next-generation Civic hybrid in the US state of Indiana, instead of Mexico, to avoid potential tariffs on one...

The rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed industries worldwide, and manufacturing is no exception. One of the most significant shifts in recent years is the concept of dark factories—automated manufacturing facilities that require little to no human intervention. But are these factories the future of industrial production, or do they pose challenges that outweigh their benefits? This article explores the rise of dark factories, their advantages, drawbacks, and how companies are implementing them globally. What Are Dark Factories? A dark factory, also known as a lights-out factory, is a fully automated facility where robots, AI-driven systems, and...

KEY TAKEAWAYSApple announced plans to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years on a swath of investments, including hiring 20,000 new workers to make artificial intelligence servers in a new Texas-based factory. Apple said the 250,000-square foot Texas factory will support its Apple Intelligence AI model and will open in 2026. Apple said the $500 billion investment plan marks its largest-ever spend commitment, and includes creating a manufacturing academy and doubling the size of its US advanced manufacturing fund. Apple (AAPL) announced on Monday plans to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S....

t wasn’t so long ago — just last year, in fact — that social media was awash with would-be Kardashians: super-straight shiny hair, bee-stung lips covering blinding white teeth, doe eyes streaked with mascara and a wasp waist dividing an ample butt and prominent breasts. But — in tandem with the rise of Ozempic and other GLP-1 medications — that image is fading fast. Even the Kardashians themselves are deflating, with butts apparently reduced and fillers seemingly dissolved. But as always in plastic surgery, it’s all about the details... Your Wattage May Vary When it comes to smiles, “L.A. has...

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the leading candidate for his state’s Senate seat, said he would advise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to strike Iranian ballistic missile factories. In an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Schiff said such a response would be “proportionate” after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles last week aimed at Israel. “If I were advising the Prime Minister of Israel, I would say, go after those ballistic missile factories storage areas,” Schiff said. “That would be proportionate, in my view,” Schiff continued. “But it would also help degrade Iran’s capacity.”

Orders for manufactured goods dropped 0.2 percent in August, following a notable increase the previous month, as reported by the Commerce Department on Thursday. This decline marks the third decrease in orders within the last four months, signaling ongoing difficulties within the manufacturing sector. Economists had predicted that orders would remain unchanged in August, reflecting a cautious outlook amid a mixed economic environment. The data revealed that orders for durable goods were adjusted to show no change for the month, a significant shift from July’s remarkable gain of 9.8 percent. This revision was a downgrade from an earlier estimate suggesting...

The growth of orders placed with American factories for durable goods stagnated in August, casting a shadow on claims by Vice President Kamala Harris that the Biden-Harris administration’s policies have bolstered U.S. industrial strength. The value of durable goods orders did not rise at all in August, the Commerce Department said Thursday. This was, however, better than expected. Economists had forecast orders would decline by 2.7 percent. In July, orders jumped 9.9 percent, a slight upward revision from the earlier estimate of 9.8 percent. Core capital goods orders, a measure which excludes volatile sectors like transportation and defense and is...

Israel strikes an underground Iranian missile factory in Syria. Jihadists score big in Jordans elections. Military & political analysis at IDSF conference. A farm community, Ein Habesor, fought back on October 7th. New edition of Let My People Go.

The United Kingdom’s lone munitions filing factory exploded on Wednesday, just two days after a fire erupted at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania.As The Gateway Pundit previously reported on April 15th, the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP), the United States’ primary producer of 155mm artillery shell bodies, caught fire.Just two days later, on April 17th, a section of the United Kingdom’s lone munition factory exploded after a single shell went off inside the factory.The explosion occurred at the BAE Systems munitions factory in Glascoed, Wales.BAE Systems is the biggest defense contractor in Europe and the 7th largest...

Ukraine used Cessna-sized drones to attack deep inside the Russian Federation in the early hours of Tuesday morning, launching multiple strikes against a factory and oil refinery in the longest range hits of the war so far. A drone factory and an oil refinery over 800 miles from the frontline of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were the targets in an attack claimed by Kyiv’s military intelligence bureau in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Footage shared from the scene by Ukrainian state media shows a large drone — perhaps the size of a civilian single-engine pleasure aircraft — crashing into...

Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia terror group, fired rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday, hitting a factory that employed people with special needs, and killing a 23-year-old Druze Arab named Zaher Bashara in the facility. The Times of Israel reported that Bashara, who worked as a driver at the Alon paper goods company, was set to be engaged and had been his family’s breadwinner since the death of his father, providing for his extended family.

(CNN) - A furnace explosion at a Chinese-owned nickel factory in Indonesia on Sunday has killed at least 13 workers and injured 38 others, officials say. The incident took place at a factory in the Morowali Industrial Park on the island of Sulawesi. The factory is operated by Chinese steel and nickel giant Tsingshan, which has stakes in Indonesia’s lucrative nickel mining industry and runs operations under its local arm, Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS). Morowali police spokesperson Ipda Hamid told CNN affiliate CNN Indonesia that 13 people had died at the scene, with multiple victims being rushed to nearby...

Activists protesting against Israel picketed several entrances to a major factory operated by BAE Systems, one of the world’s largest defence contractors on Friday. Dozens of protesters — with organisers from ‘Workers for a Free Palestine’ claiming “400+” — blocked entrances to a major defence factory in Rochester, Kent on Friday morning. Protesters chanted that Israel is a “terrorist state” and pleaded with employees of BAE Systems to go home rather than try to go to work. A protester quoted by the Kent Messenger claimed: “This is our power as people. Your power is your voice and direct action like...

A $4 billion Panasonic electric vehicle battery factory in De Soto, Kansas, will help satisfy the Biden administration’s efforts to get everyone into an EV. It also will help extend the life of a coal-fired power plant. Resource Adequacy Panasonic broke ground on the facility last year. The Japanese company was slated to receive $6.8 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act, which has been pouring billions into electric vehicles and battery factories as part of its effort to transition America away from fossil fuels. The Kansas City Star reports that the factory will require between 200 and 250 megawatts of...

I was hoping that the week of July 4th would start off with fireworks, but we got bad news about the economy. US factory activity contracted for an eighth month in June, slipping to the weakest level in more than three years as production, employment and input prices retreated. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing gauge fell to 46, the weakest since May 2020, from 46.9 a month earlier, according to data released Monday. The current stretch of readings below 50, which indicates shrinking activity, is the longest since 2008-2009. The decline in the ISM production gauge, which also stands...

A man opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday, leaving two people dead, the company said. The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old man, was taken into custody, a spokesman for the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said. Police received the first emergency calls around 1:45 a.m. EDT on Thursday morning, a police spokeswoman told the news agency dpa.

ST. SIMONS, Ga. — A large fire at a factory near St. Simons Island has led to Glynn County issuing a shelter-in-place order for parts of the island. The Pinova plant in nearby Brunswick, Ga. caught fire Saturday and strong winds are reportedly pushing the smoke over the island. Fire officials have not confirmed how the fire started.

Communities in rural Michigan are revolting against a decision to allow a Chinese-owned firm to build a battery plant in the area, according to footage of a recent Green Charter Township board meeting obtained by conservative outlet The Midwesterner. More than 100 residents of Green Charter Township and Big Rapids in rural Mecosta County, Michigan, showed up to the March 14 meeting to voice concerns over the presence of the Chinese-owned company, Gotion Global, amid growing concern over national security issues related to China. "The thing that drives some the most crazy about this is that this is a Chinese-owned...

TSMC (2330.TW), the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Apple Inc (AAPL.O), said on Wednesday it was constructing a building that could serve as its second chip factory in Arizona in the United States. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd said in an emailed statement to Reuters that it could use the building for future expansion but has not yet arrived on a final decision for a second chip manufacturing plant. "In light of the strong customer demand we are seeing in TSMC's advanced technology, we will consider adding more capacity in Arizona with a second fab based...

China is losing its influence; it’s in decline. At the same time, however, China, ruled by a despotic regime, is responsible for 28.7 percent of global manufacturing output (more than 10 percentage points ahead of its No. 1 rival, the United States). This utter dependence on China for manufacturing must be stopped. As I write this, three countries are working to siphon customers away from China. Will their efforts prove to be successful?I speak from experience when I say the following: communist China is not a fun place to live in. Moreover, with its frequent power cuts and the Chinese...