Builder confidence in the U.S. new single-family home market was up for the fourth month in September 2014, to hit 59 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). This four-point gain elevates the index to its highest point since November of 2005.
The first voluntary U.S. sustainability standard for small appliances and floor care appliances has been released, intended to help portable and floor care appliance manufacturers evaluate the environmental sustainability of their products.
Walmart welcomed more than 500 manufacturers recently at its world headquarters, during the company's first Made in the USA open call. Suppliers met with senior company officials and merchants to pitch products for stores, clubs and online.
Driven mainly by stronger sales and traffic levels, the National Restaurant Association's Restaurant Performance Index rose to its highest level in more than two years in May 2014. Among other things, restaurant operators continued the recent positive spending trends on commercial appliances.
Insufficient communication and too much emphasis on controlling factory capital expenditures means that manufacturers pay massive energy-inefficiency costs over the lifetime of their plants, according to research firm IHS.
Improvement in a number of indexes suggest optimism for the manufacturing sector in the coming three to six months, according to the quarterly MAPI Business Outlook.
Consumer electronics purchases are driving up this year's total average back-to-school shopping total by 26 percent, according to the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker.
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has commended the administration for including in its FY2014 budget measures aimed at the promotion of energy-efficiency efforts in the public and private sectors.
Business leaders in the United States showed signs of increased optimism in the performance of the nation's economy in the first quarter of 2013, according to the latest data from the Grant Thornton International Business Report. The report also showed higher global business optimism.