Week 11 in Manufacturing News

U.S. stocks tumbled more than 2% as investors weighed government responses to the coronavirus fallout; U.S. manufacturing sector stalls as coronavirus hits supply chains; Europe’s Stock Markets Are Slammed by Trump Travel Ban; Strategic Retrofitting: Older Machines Get an IIoT Update.

U.S. stocks tumbled more than 2% as investors weighed government responses to the coronavirus fallout.

Investors are vacillating between the threat that the coronavirus poses to the global economy and the hopes that governments will unveil a series of measures to help businesses.

Source: NY Times

U.S. manufacturing sector stalls as coronavirus hits supply chains

U.S. factory manufacturing activity slowed in February as new orders contracted, reflecting worries about supply chain disruptions related to the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, which has revived financial market fears of a recession.

The yield on the two-year Treasury note fell below 1% for the first time since 2016. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of national factory activity fell to a reading of 50.1 last month from 50.9 in January.

Source: Reuters.

Europe’s Stock Markets Are Slammed by Trump Travel Ban

European stocks plunged in early Thursday trading as investors digested the consequences of President Trump’s 30-day travel ban on European visitors to the United States.

Live updates: The New York Times.

Strategic Retrofitting: Older Machines Get an IIoT Update

There’s an understandable reluctance to investigate the Internet of Things among companies that have invested in legacy heavy manufacturing equipment. The wide range of retrofit devices include:

• Optical sensors
• Audio sensors
• Plug-in electricity
• Vibration sensors
• Remote valve monitors

Source: IndustryWeek.