Joe McDonald

AP Business Writer
Latest in Supply Chain
Freeing From Dock Scheduling Chaos
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Freeing From Dock Scheduling Chaos
June 25, 2026
Cargo
Missing Cargo Plane Sparks Massive Sea Search
July 8, 2026
The ArcelorMittal steel plant sits in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022.
New Steel, E-commerce Regulations Look to Reduce Trade Imbalance With China
July 7, 2026
Robotics
How Ready Are Suppliers for New Robot Safety Standards?
July 7, 2026
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Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar and President of the OPEC Conference, left, and Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia attend a news conference after a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, at their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016.
Operations
Will Oil Producers' Cut Have Impact?
Takata Ap 584ece058df6b
Safety
Air Bag Recalls to Cover 42M Cars Total
In this file photo, Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Pebble, displays his company's smart watch.
Operations
Pebble Halts Sales
The Today in Manufacturing Podcast from Manufacturing.net
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More from Joe McDonald
Bringing the Power of Video AI Tools to the Plant Floor
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Bringing the Power of Video AI Tools to the Plant Floor
Video AI agents uncover production floor risks, including missing PPE, idle workstations and operational bottlenecks.
June 22, 2026
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Operations
China Fines U.S. Research Firm $1.5M in Information-Gathering Crackdown
The Mintz Group illegally engaged in "foreign-related statistical investigation activities without obtaining approval."
August 22, 2023
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Product Development
China Accuses U.S. of Trying to Block Development
And made demands that technology curbs be repealed.
August 10, 2023
Mountains and a liming facility are reflected in a brine evaporation pond at Albemarle Corp.'s Silver Peak lithium facility, on Oct. 6, 2022, in Silver Peak, Nev.
Supply Chain
Threatened By Shortages, EV Makers Race for Lithium Supplies
The race is on for "white gold."
June 28, 2023
Workers assemble speakers at an electronics factory in Linquan in central China's Anhui province on May 31, 2023.
Supply Chain
China's Factory Activity Weakens in May
And youth unemployment is on the rise.
June 15, 2023
A BYD ATTO 3 electric sports utility vehicle gets charged as it is displayed at a BYD dealership on April 4, 2023, in Yokohama near Tokyo.
Operations
Chinese EV Brands Expand to Global Markets
They bring fast-developing technology and low prices that Tesla's CFO says "are scary."
May 2, 2023
Visitors stand near a flag of the Chinese Communist Party at an exhibition in Shanghai, Thursday, April 20, 2023.
Regulation
Foreign Companies in China Face Growing Scrutiny, Pressure
The government is tightening control over businesses, which is clashing with efforts to lure back investors.
April 28, 2023
A worker uses a computer terminal to monitor remote operations at a container port in Tianjin, China, on Jan. 16, 2023.
Operations
China's Huawei Looks to Ports, Factories to Rebuild Sales
The company has created 20 teams to focus on factories, mines, hospitals, ports, power plants and other industrial customers.
January 24, 2023
Protesters hold up blank papers and chant slogans as they march in protest in Beijing, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022.
Safety
China Eases COVID Rules After Wide Lockdown Protests
This includes Guangzhou, the southern manufacturing and trade metropolis.
November 28, 2022
Workers line up to get tested for COVID-19 at the Foxconn factory in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Aug. 5, 2021.
Safety
Workers Protest at Virus-Hit Chinese iPhone Factory
Employees were beaten and detained.
November 23, 2022
A woman works in a textile factory in Human in eastern China's Shandong Province, Nov. 1, 2022.
Supply Chain
China Factory Activity Down as Virus Controls Rise
The performance was even weaker than expected.
November 15, 2022
A medical worker collects a sample from a man at a coronavirus testing site in Beijing, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022.
Safety
China Closes Zone Around iPhone Factory After Virus Cases
No one can enter or leave for one week except to deliver food and medical supplies.
November 2, 2022
Visitors stop by the booth of Nvidia at the Apsara Conference, an annual cloud service technology forum hosted by Alibaba Group, in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021.
Supply Chain
China Demands U.S. Drop Tech Export Curbs After Nvidia Warning
The chip designer said a new product might be delayed and some work might be moved out of China.
September 1, 2022
In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, center, poses with Tesla owners at a delivery ceremony for the first Tesla Model 3 cars made at Tesla's Shanghai factory in Shanghai on Jan. 7, 2020. Musk’s ties to China through his role as electric car brand Tesla’s biggest shareholder could add complexity to his bid to buy Twitter.
Software
Musk's China Ties Add Potential Risks to Twitter Purchase
Tesla's ambitions in China might give Beijing leverage to pressure Twitter to silence critics or ease rules on propaganda.
May 17, 2022
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a container ship from Japan is anchored at the container dock of Shanghai's Yangshan Port in east China on April 27, 2022. China's export growth tumbled in April after Shanghai and other industrial cities were shut down to fight virus outbreaks.
Supply Chain
China Trade Weakens After Cities Shut Down to Fight Virus
The country's export growth tumbled.
May 9, 2022