Manufacturing

MEDIMMUNE INC., a Gaithersburg developer of drugs, vaccines and treatments, had just what the doctor ordered for Maryland: a $50 million manufacturing plant in Frederick County with a payroll that could reach $10 million. This not only is a boost for the Glendening administration's economic development efforts, it sends a strong message to local biotechnology firms that they no longer have to go out of state to set up production plants.This is an important message. While the Interstate 270 corridor in particular is loaded with biotech research firms, there's no manufacturing component.

A struggling, 110-year-old glass manufacturer that employs 300 will remain open in Baltimore after the Abell Foundation made an undisclosed investment to save it.The Carr-Lowrey Glass Co., which makes glass containers for cosmetics and perfumes at a plant at 2201 Kloman St., had been searching for a buyer for months before the Abell Foundation stepped in, said K. Wayne Long, vice chairman of the company's board."

Hemorrhaging jobs - 5.6 million in a year - gets one focused on how we can stop this carnage. I was part of a blitz of 350 U.S. factory owners and managers who spent two days last week meeting with members of Congress to share with them some ideas on how we can reverse this trend and get back to growing manufacturing jobs in the United States. The U.S. manufacturing industry is still the biggest in the world; we want to keep it that way. Despite common misperception, our manufacturers ship more than China.

WASHINGTON - Services, the biggest part of the U.S. economy, expanded in October for a ninth straight month, helping blunt the effects of a manufacturing slump. The Institute for Supply Management's index for nonmanufacturing businesses fell less than expected, to 53.1 from 53.9 in September. The index has been higher than 50, the point dividing growth and contraction, since February. "It's getting a little bit better, but it's marginal," said Richard Hochhauser, chief executive officer at Harte-Hanks Inc., the largest U.S. publisher of "shopper" circulars.

WASHINGTON - Manufacturing slowed in the United States, and retail sales weakened as consumers turned cautious at the onset of war with Iraq, the Federal Reserve said in its survey of regional economies. "The pace of economic activity continued to be lackluster during March and the first two weeks of April," said the survey that was released yesterday. "The onset of the war appeared to have some effect on sales and spending, although it is too early to ascertain the full effect of the war on both consumer and business confidence."

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. -- Lear Corp., the world's biggest maker of car seats, announced yesterday that it will cut about 2,800 jobs, or nearly 5 percent of its 60,000 workers, as it closes 18 plants in a previously disclosed plan to reduce costs in North America and Europe.Lear will take a pretax charge of about $133 million, or $1.37 a share, in the fourth quarter, which is expected to result in a loss for the quarter, analysts said. About $85 million of the charge will be in cash.The charge is greater than Lear's initial estimate of about $125 million.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. manufacturing posted its weakest showing in more than two years in July as the economic crisis in Asia and the General Motors Corp. strike stifled production. Prices paid by factories fell to their lowest level in almost 16 years.The National Association of Purchasing Management said yesterday that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 49.1 for the month -- its fourth consecutive decline and the lowest since February 1996 -- from 49.6 in June.Index readings below 50 mean the number of manufacturers who said business had deteriorated was greater than the number of those saying it had improved.

WASHINGTON -- Manufacturing unexpectedly strengthened in October and personal incomes rose in September, signs that the U.S. economy is powering ahead, figures showed yesterday.The National Association of Purchasing Management's factory index rose to 56.0 last month from 54.2 in September, led by gains in orders and production. Employment and exports also strengthened. A reading of 50 or more in the NAPM index means that manufacturing is expanding.The statistics increase the chances that the Federal Reserve may raise the overnight bank lending rate to keep inflation in check, providing last week's rout in the stock market doesn't hurt consumer confidence or spending, analysts said.

WASHINGTON -- A closely watched gauge of U.S. manufacturing cooled last month as Asia's economic crisis depressed exports. Factory orders and production also sagged from a month earlier.The National Association of Purchasing Management said yesterday that its index declined to 52.5 last month -- the lowest reading since January 1997 -- from 54.4 in November. Analysts expected a December reading of 54.0. A reading of 50 or more in the NAPM index means manufacturing is expanding, while a reading below 50 signals a contraction.

KIMBALL INTERNATIONAL Inc.'s decision to discontinue its U.S. manufacture of pianos closes a product line that has been synonymous with the Midwestern company since 1885. America's once-thriving piano industry is now down to just a handful of factories, of which Steinway and Baldwin are the most prestigious.During the heyday of American piano manufacture, roughly from the Civil War to World War I, more than half of the world's pianos were crafted in this country. Pianos were central to middle-class life.