Over the next five years, the natural gas heavy-duty commercial vehicle market is set to experience rapid growth in North America.

Eighty percent of manufacturers responding to a recent survey rate reducing overall supply chain costs as the number one supply chain priority in the coming year, according to IDC Manufacturing Insights. Nearly 55 percent suggest supply chain agility is second and 52 percent suggest improving product quality and safety is the third-most important priority.

The Offshore Group of Tucson, Arizona, has entered into a long-term relationship for the provision of outsourced manufacturing support, or "shelter," services in Mexico with UK-based manufacturer, J.J. Churchill Ltd. The British firm, a precision machinist for aerospace OEMs, will install production capacity in The Offshore Group's Roca Fuerte Industrial Park in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico. The term of the contract between the two parties is for 10 years.

Wipro Technologies has launched m-eXecute, a new mobility application for the manufacturing sector.

Manufacturers can generate new value, minimize costs, and increase operational stability by focusing on four broad areas: production, product design, value recovery - and supply-circle management.

International trade data indicates that U.S. import shipment volume for May, measured in TEUs, increased 5.6 percent from April and 3.5 percent from May 2011.

Automobile manufacturer Volkswagen Slovakia is tracking its assembled vehicles as they undergo final servicing and inspection processes at its plant in Bratislava, using a real-time location system (RTLS).