Kellogg plans to divide into three companies that focus on snacking, plant-based products and cereal, while considering a sale of the plant-based business. "These businesses all have significant stand-alone potential, and an enhanced focus will enable them to better direct their resources toward their distinct strategic priorities," says CEO Steve Cahillane, who will be CEO of snacking, which comprised roughly 80% of Kellogg's 2021 sales.
US manufacturing production slipped 0.1% in May, the first decline since January, the Federal Reserve reported. The negative result was unexpected after a gain of 0.8% in April.
Mondelez is growing its global snack bar business to more than $1 billion with its acquisition of Clif Bar & Co. The $2.9 billion deal, which includes the possibility of later payments, is the latest in a series of nine snacking acquisitions by Mondelez since 2018.
Nearly 9 in 10 manufacturing respondents to a global survey by Fortinet admit they have no easy way to generally monitor their operational technology network activities. This and other results from the survey point to the urgency of securing these systems against a growing threat of ransomware and other attacks, and Fortinet offers several recommendations, beginning with the introduction of central visibility for cybersecurity operations.
The growth of electric vehicles crucially depends on steady availability of lithium-ion batteries, but a sufficient supply chain for the batteries is nonexistent, industry experts say. The situation is exacerbated by US mining restrictions and narrow access to crucial minerals as well as lagging investment in advanced technologies and an absence of federal policies to encourage research, development and manufacturing.
NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics and Texas Instruments are among the semiconductor manufacturers producing microcontrollers and embedded processors that can support the factories of the future with industrial internet of things technology. The industrial networks of the future will embrace functional safety measures, allowing industrial robots to work in conjunction with human operators, this analysis notes.
Industry accounts for about 19% of the freshwater used in the US, and with water supplies a growing concern, particularly in Western states, Toyota is highlighting its conservation efforts. The hope is that other industrial users will follow the example to avoid being "in a position again where we're only in a reactive mode to another of the environmental issues we've had over the years," says Kevin Butt, senior director for environmental sustainability with Toyota's Texas-based North American arm.
About 100 high-school students and recent graduates in an Illinois school district are participating in an internship program hosted by the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium. The 10-week program is intended to help encourage students to pursue in-demand careers in manufacturing.
In the latest NAM Manufacturers' Outlook Survey, 82.6% of respondents felt either somewhat or very positive about their company outlook, down from 88.8% in the first quarter. It was the weakest reading since the fourth quarter of 2020 but remained solid overall. Small firms remained less upbeat in their outlook than their medium and large manufacturing counterparts. Increased raw material costs topped the list of primary business challenges in the second quarter, cited by 90.1% of respondents. In addition, 59.3% of manufacturing leaders believed inflationary pressures would make a recession more likely in the next 12 months. Read the full report.
