manufacturing

TSMC secures land for two 1.4nm fabs after locals reverse opposition

TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has revived its long-stalled plan to build 1.4-nanometer fabrication plants at the Longtan Science Park in Taoyuan, Taiwan, after local landowners reversed their opposition to the project, driven by economic incentives they observed in…

Global PMI hits five-month high as manufacturing outpaces services

The J.P. Morgan Global Composite PMI Output Index rose to 52.6 in July from 52.0 in June, reaching its highest level since February and signaling an acceleration in worldwide economic activity, according to data released August 6 by S&P Global.

ASEAN manufacturing hits five-month high as US factories slow

The ASEAN manufacturing sector posted its strongest improvement in five months in July, rebounding from a weak second quarter shaped by Middle East conflict disruptions, as US factory growth simultaneously weakened to its lowest level since March.

Dollar rebounds from 7-week low on strongest ISM reading in four years

The US dollar recovered from a seven-week low on Monday after the July ISM manufacturing index surged past expectations to reach a four-year high, reinforcing the case for continued Federal Reserve tightening and pressuring rival currencies and gold.

ECB September rate hike seen as ‘done deal’ despite Iran war fallout

Swap markets are pricing roughly a 90% chance that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting, as stronger-than-expected eurozone growth and persistent inflation override concerns about the economic fallout from the…

China’s factory activity slows as both PMI gauges weaken in July

China's manufacturing sector showed fresh signs of fragility in July, with the official purchasing managers index slipping into contraction territory for the first time in five months while a private gauge fell to a four-month low, reinforcing concerns that the…

Eurozone factory output hits 4 1/2-year high but rests on fading backlogs

Eurozone factory output surged to its fastest pace in nearly four-and-a-half years in July, but the recovery rests on shaky foundations as manufacturers burn through old orders rather than winning new business amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Global factory activity surges in July on AI demand

Manufacturing activity across several major economies expanded robustly in July, with artificial intelligence-related demand and recovering export orders powering gains from Asia to Europe in data released Monday.

Japan, South Korea factory output hits multi-year highs on AI chip demand

Manufacturing activity across Japan and South Korea accelerated in July, powered by a wave of semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related orders that pushed output in both countries to multi-year highs, according to purchasing managers' surveys released on Monday.

India proposes extending tax breaks for contract manufacturers to 2041

India's government has notified the Income Tax Rules, 2026, a sweeping overhaul of procedural and compliance systems under direct taxation that will take effect on September 1, according to All India Radio, the government's official broadcaster. Separately, the government on…

Global factories weaken in July as Iran war disrupts trade

Manufacturing activity across major economies weakened in July as the five-month-old war in the Middle East continued to disrupt supply chains and inflate input costs, while hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran sent oil prices…

July PMI data show China, France weakening as Germany gains

Manufacturing purchasing managers' data released on Monday revealed a fragmented global industrial landscape in July, with expansion in some major economies contrasting sharply with renewed weakness in others. China's factory sector slowed to a four-month low, France slipped back into…

China’s factory activity unexpectedly contracts in July

China's factory activity unexpectedly fell into contraction in July, snapping four straight months of expansion and underscoring a broad loss of economic momentum as the export boom that powered earlier growth began to fade.

Trump announces 100% tariff on generic drugs starting August 2028

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that imported generic drugs will face escalating tariffs beginning in 2028, marking the first time his administration has targeted the generic pharmaceutical sector with trade levies. The move extends his broader campaign to shift…

TSMC to raise chipmaking prices up to 10% in 2027

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest contract chipmaker, will raise prices across both advanced and mature chip production services by up to 10% starting in January 2027, according to Nikkei Asia, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter.

China ends 11-year tax exemption on lithium batteries

China announced on Friday that it will impose a consumption tax on lithium-ion batteries starting September 1, 2026, bringing to a close an 11-year exemption that helped fuel the country's rise to dominance in global battery manufacturing. The policy, however,…

Hedge funds bet heavily against manufacturing stocks amid Strait of Hormuz crisis

Global hedge funds bet heavily against manufacturing stocks in June, more than in any other sector, as investors grew increasingly concerned about supply-chain disruption from renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from Hazeltree released on Wednesday.

Samsung to convert Giheung R&D site into new DRAM fab

Samsung Electronics is converting a site at its historic Giheung semiconductor campus from a planned research facility into a new DRAM production fab, as the South Korean chipmaker accelerates capacity expansion to meet surging demand for AI memory chips.

Intel to build most Nova Lake chips in-house as yields hit 85%

Intel is dramatically reshaping its manufacturing strategy for its upcoming Nova Lake processors, planning to produce 80-90% of compute tiles internally on its 18A process node — a reversal from earlier plans that had assigned a larger role to TSMC…

Intel begins shipping chips made with ASML’s High NA EUV tools

ASML announced on Tuesday that Intel Foundry has begun high-volume manufacturing of select Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, code-named Panther Lake, using ASML's next-generation High NA EUV lithography technology on the Intel 18A process node. The milestone marks the…

Manufacturers stockpile at pandemic-era rates as supply chain strain persists

Global manufacturers are continuing to build buffer inventories at rates not seen since the pandemic-era supply chain crisis, according to the latest GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index released on July 13. The index, produced by GEP and S&P Global,…

Intel commits $5.7B to expand Irish chip plant amid AI boom

Intel announced on Monday a €5 billion ($5.7 billion) capital investment at its Leixlip campus in Ireland, marking the chipmaker's latest move to expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity as demand for AI processors continues to surge.

TSMC to build two more packaging plants in Taiwan amid AI chip crunch

TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will build two additional advanced chip packaging plants at the Chiayi Science Park in southern Taiwan as part of a Phase II expansion, Taiwan's science minister confirmed on Sunday, as the chipmaker races to…

Samsung clears Tesla’s AI5 chip for fabrication on 2nm line

Samsung Foundry has confirmed that the Tesla AI5 chip has reached tape-out on its 2-nanometer process line, clearing the design for fabrication at the company's Taylor, Texas facility. The milestone means Samsung has finished converting Tesla's chip blueprint into a…

Tesla dismantles Model S/X line in 46 days for Optimus

Tesla released a time-lapse video on Thursday showing the complete decommissioning of its original Model S and Model X assembly line at the Fremont, California factory, a process the company completed in just 46 days. The footage, posted on X…

Mitsubishi Motors to mass-produce humanoid robots at its Kyoto plant

Mitsubishi Motors announced on Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Highlanders, a University of Tokyo-born robotics startup, to jointly develop humanoid robots and mass-produce them at the automaker's Kyoto Plant, with production targeted to begin as…

BYD rolls out 17 millionth new energy vehicle in 82 days

BYD celebrated a production landmark on Tuesday when its 17 millionth new energy vehicle rolled off the assembly line at its Xi'an plant, with the milestone unit being the newly launched Seal 08 flagship sedan.

Taiwan approves $20B TSMC expansion in Arizona

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. shares rose on Thursday after Taiwan's government approved a $20 billion capital injection into the chipmaker's Arizona subsidiary, the latest catalyst for a stock buoyed by expectations that planned price increases on advanced chips will lift…

Intel fixes 18A yield issues, hits 30,000 wafers a month

Intel has fixed the wafer-to-wafer yield variability that plagued early production of its 18A process node, according to a report from BlueFin Research Partners published this week. Combined output from the company's Oregon and Arizona fabrication facilities has reached approximately…

Boston Dynamics unveils simpler Atlas robot built for mass production

Boston Dynamics has revealed a new generation of its Atlas humanoid robot that features "almost an order of magnitude" reduction in complexity compared to its predecessor, with dramatically fewer parts designed to enable mass manufacturing. The disclosure comes alongside a…