BRIEFS - Manufacturing flat in June
Published:Sunday | July 17, 2011 | 12:00 AM
- Manufacturing flat in June
WASHINGTON (AP):
United States (US) auto factories produced fewer goods in June than the previous month, and overall factory production was flat. It marked the third straight month of weak output slowed by supply chain disruptions caused by the Japan crisis.
The Federal Reserve reported Friday that factory production was unchanged last month following a tiny 0.1 per cent rise in May. The May data were revised down from an initial 0.4 per cent increase.
Auto production fell two per cent in June, after declines in May and April. US automakers have had trouble getting component parts out of Japan in the months after the March 11 earthquakes and tsunami.
Overall industrial production was up 0.2 per cent in June. Gains in mining and utilities offset the declines in the factory sector. Industrial production has risen nearly 11.5 per cent since a recession low in June 2009. But even with the gains, it remains 7.6 per cent below its pre-recession peak reached in September 2007.
Stocks were mixed in early-morning trading. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 15 points, the S&P 500 was flat, and the Nasdaq composite index made modest gains.
- North Street closure
On Friday, a section of North Street in Kingston was closed to vehicular traffic to facilitate repair work by the state-run National Works Agency.
According to reports, the first phase of this project is expected to end on Monday, July 18.
- Toyota aims to hike production
TOKYO (AP):
Toyota's president said the car maker plans to take 100 per cent ownership of two auto-assembly companies it partly owns and combine one of them with two other subsidiaries in an effort to strengthen Japanese manufacturing.
Toyota Motor Corp President Akio Toyoda said the moves are aimed at keeping auto production in Japan, and will quicken product development so it can remain globally competitive, despite unfavourable conditions such as the strong yen and a growing power crunch.
But they also highlight the serious hardships at Japanese manufacturers that are requiring the joining of forces to ride out tough times. A quake and tsunami disaster in March has disrupted production, and a nuclear crisis that followed is threatening the power supply.