Companies with centralized manufacturing have a single facility to produce and distribute their products or a central factory with multiple distribution points in their supply chain. A decentralized manufacturing company has multiple facilities that cover large areas, allowing products to be manufactured and distributed close to customers. Which is right for your enterprise?

A conversation with Ron Tarter, senior vice president, Eastern Operations, for Flextronics.

Analyst Insight: Industrial manufacturing includes a broad range of sub-verticals. Given the current global uncertainties, these companies are focusing on manufacturing and supply chain excellence while trying to grow their top lines. This will not stop the leaders from looking at many exciting new technologies that are emerging. The "manufacturing renaissance" going on is as likely to be around new technologies adopted as around where the manufacturing takes place. - Robert Eastman, Senior Analyst, Technology Evaluation Centers

Global hiring conditions are expected to remain stable or improve slightly at the start of the new year, as many employers appear to remain resilient in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty and other disruptions. This is according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which canvassed more than 65,000 employers from 42 countries and territories.

Export manufacturing has recently become the unsung hero of the U.S. economy. Despite all the public focus on the U.S. trade deficit, little attention has been paid to the fact that the country's exports have been growing more than seven times faster than GDP since 2005. As a share of the U.S. economy, in fact, exports are at their highest point in 50 years.

Where are the most manufacturing jobs? A number of states have plenty. We all know Texas does. But not as much as Michigan does, according to a recent study.

Manufacturing expanded in July at the fastest pace in more than two years, sparked by surges in orders and production that signal companies are growing more optimistic about the U.S. economy's prospects.