In San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Josué Vidales considers his business a Nafta success story. The 43-year-old father of five founded his engineering firm a decade ago, on the eve of the world economic crisis, to capi­tal­ize on the factory boom in this burgeoning industrial city 250 miles north of Mexico City.

Almost three quarters of firms say they have continuity arrangements in place with regard to supply chain management, according to a survey.

The U.S. is set to enjoy the biggest increase in oil and gas production the world has ever seen over the next few years, according to a new report.

Fidget spinners - the multipronged, whirling gadgets that became so popular this year that some schools banned them as a distraction - have been marketed as playful diversions meant to help people calm down and focus.

In 2010 a spate of suicides at factories in southern China owned by Foxconn, a contract manufacturer for some of the world's leading electronics brands, highlighted poor conditions faced by its assembly workers. Foxconn promised to improve working conditions, but reports of further suicides or attempted suicides have continued to dog the company.

In October, International Textile Group, acquired by a private equity firm a year ago, announced plans to close the storied Cone Denim White Oak plant in Greensboro, N.C. That factory was a 112-year-old shrine to bluejeans and the last major manufacturer of selvage denim in the United States.