Two years ago, a robot crushed a 22-year-old man to death at a Volkswagen AG factory in Germany after the maintenance worker became trapped in an area usually off-bound to humans. While this type of tragedy is still relatively rare, efforts to improve safety are intensifying as factories around the world become increasingly automated.

Output at U.S. factories plunged in August due to the big hit from Hurricane Harvey that shut down huge parts of the nation's oil refining, the Federal Reserve reported last week.

Cowboy hats, fire trucks and baseball bats - these were some of the products put on display at the White House during the "Made in America Week" this summer. While this was mainly a symbolic, PR-motivated show to celebrate American manufacturing, recent policy initiatives by President Trump's administration are aiming to reshape the supply chains of federal agencies and companies across many sectors.

Volkswagen, the German auto giant, is preparing for a swift expansion in its output of electric cars next year - and the biggest jump in production will be in China. General Motors is making China the hub of its electric car research and development. Renault-Nissan, the French and Japanese carmaker, and Ford Motor have hustled to set up joint electric-car ventures in China.