Industrial Maintenance & Plant Operation

New orders of metalworking machinery in the U.S. rose by over 36% in August to the third-highest monthly total on record, according to the latest U.S. Manufacturing Technology Orders Report from the Association for Manufacturing Technology. The August order total of $732.9 million was up 36.3% year-over-year and 21% compared to July levels. It also brought the year-to-date total to $4.76 billion β€” up 36.9% compared to the first eight months of 2025.

WARREN, Mich. (AP) β€” At the General Motors Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, in suburban Detroit, hundreds of volunteer, real-world drivers have hopped inside a Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicle or other popular GM models and experienced all sorts of things while in the car: regular roadway driving, driving up and down hills, construction, rain, nearby traffic and other scenarios. But while the vehicle is real, the world that the drivers are experiencing is not.

The U.S. Army found systemic safety breakdowns behind last year’s midair collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter near Washington, D.C., and recommended changes to prevent future tragedies. The Army report — completed in May and released publicly Thursday after months of pressure from the victims' families — identified failures involving air traffic control, helicopter routes, training and safety practices.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Thursday after hurrying there eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew. SpaceX brought the U.S., French and Russian flyers back with a splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration announced Thursday it was suspending Microsoft and several other firms from a program allowing foreign workers to apply for green cards, as it also lashed out at universities that bring international students to the U.S. on exchange programs. The announcement by Vice President JD Vance marks the latest swing from the Trump administration at employers and universities that welcome foreign students and workers into the country.

Honda R&D Co., a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., jointly with Taisei Corporation (Taisei) and Taisei Rotec Corporation (Taisei Rotec), developed underlaying technology for a magnetic coupling wireless power transfer (WPT) road system. The project looks to enable wireless in-motion charging of EVs. The three companies plan to conduct demonstration testing of the system from the Japanese 2027 fiscal year, starting April 1, 2027.

Blue Origin is expanding its footprint in the Lone Star State with a new state-of-the-art manufacturing campus in Hutto, Texas. The 1.3‑million‑square‑foot multi-facility complex, dubbed Constellation Park, will serve as a central production hub for several of the company’s satellite and communications programs. Governor Greg Abbott announced the new advanced manufacturing and operations campus this morning, including Blue Origin's expected $554.8 million capital investment.

Northrop Grumman’s YFQ-48A Talon Blue completed its first fully autonomous flight, including taxi, takeoff, in-flight maneuvers and landing. Talon Blue is part of Northrop Grumman’s internally-funded Project Talon portfolio focused on accelerating the development of autonomous airpower capabilities. Manufacturing and design improvements cut part count and overall weight, lowering cost and enabling faster production to meet demand for autonomous systems.

WOODFIN, N.C. (AP) โ€” They're piled on river banks, lodged in uprooted trees, embedded in sediment and jammed under logs. Many are tangled in mounds of debris up to two stories high. Two years after Hurricane Helene leveled forests, bulldozed houses and filled western North Carolina rivers with everything from cars to refrigerators, the work of cleaning up the debris goes on.

If there’s one area where the old adage of “you have to see it to believe it” might not resonate as strongly, it’s OT cybersecurity. I say this because one of the biggest challenges for our sector continues to be visibility. Although it’s clearly one of those blocking and tackling-type elements, identifying and securing all our assets, endpoints, connections and devices is tough.