01
What changed in manufacturing regulation and policy this week?
Government decisions, new rules and policy shifts reported this week.
02
California Forever's proposal for a new manufacturing and housing development in California faced a legislative setback as of September 2026.
Read at nytimes.com ↗03
More than 160 US companies, including Volkswagen and Amazon, have identified potential links to blacklisted smelters in their supply chains.
Read at ft.com ↗04
President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 100% on foreign-made drones.
Read at nytimes.com ↗05
The Trump administration is considering new tariffs on imported semiconductors to encourage domestic manufacturing in the United States.
Read at bloomberg.com ↗06
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) reported that UK food and drink manufacturers' business confidence remained at -31% in Q2 2026.
Read at esmmagazine.com ↗07
The Chinese government is prioritizing embodied AI and humanoid robotics to drive industrial growth and address labor shortages caused by an aging population.
Read at ieee-ras.org ↗08
In July and August 2026, the U.S. government tightened restrictions on foreign-made advanced robotic systems and imposed new tariffs on imported drones and components, citing national security.
Read at techcrunch.com ↗What funding rounds and acquisitions happened in manufacturing this week?
The week’s notable investments, financing rounds, acquisitions and strategic deals.
09
Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Cleanhill Partners have agreed to sell EPC Power, a manufacturer of power conversion systems, for US$4.4 billion.
Read at energy-storage.news ↗10
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has announced a funding commitment of $46.5 million to establish new Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers.
Read at assemblymag.com ↗What products launched in manufacturing this week?
Notable product launches, releases and platform updates from the week.
11
Chinese manufacturer Micronewton Technology Development has delivered a multi-source energy laboratory system to an undisclosed research institution in China as of September 2026.
Read at pv-magazine.com ↗12
Skyven Technologies announced that its Arcturus industrial heat pump demonstration center in Dallas, commissioned in November 2025, has achieved a sustained coefficient of performance (COP) of 8.0.
Read at pv-magazine.com ↗13
QuantumDiamonds GmbH has demonstrated a new contact-free method for imaging electrical current in semiconductor structures using microwave-induced electromagnetic excitation.
Read at semiconductor-digest.com ↗14
Airbus has deployed a new robotic system to automate the installation of aircraft seats at its production facilities.
Read at assemblymag.com ↗15
Wuxi Autowell Technology (ATW), a China-based solar equipment manufacturer, has launched a new screen-printing solution designed for copper and silver-coated copper pastes in solar cell production.
Read at pv-magazine.com ↗16
The Rigaku Group will showcase its X-ray metrology and inspection solutions at the SEMICON Taiwan 2026 exhibition, held from September 2 to 4, 2026, at TaiNEX 1 and 2 in Taipei.
Read at semiconductor-digest.com ↗17
Qnity Electronics, Inc. has launched the Stackplane CMP slurry platform, a new product family designed for advanced semiconductor packaging processes including hybrid bonding and through-silicon via (TSV) integration.
Read at semiconductor-digest.com ↗What financial results were reported in manufacturing this week?
Earnings, guidance and other financial results reported this week.
18
Wah Lee Industrial projects accelerated growth in 2027 driven by the expansion of advanced packaging capacity and the construction of overseas semiconductor foundries.
Read at digitimes.com ↗19
Ford is providing loans to its suppliers to prevent insolvency, while General Motors has committed $4.5 billion to pre-purchase and warehouse parts.
Read at theloadstar.com ↗20
German manufacturing orders increased for the third consecutive month in August 2026, according to data reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Read at wsj.com ↗21
South Korean semiconductor exports reached a record $46.65 billion in August 2026, marking a 209% year-over-year increase.
Read at techmeme.com ↗22
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs announced that Taiwanese companies plan to invest an additional $20 billion in the United States.
Read at thestreet.com ↗23
Howmet Aerospace shares experienced a significant decline following an announcement by Elon Musk that SpaceX intends to manufacture turbine blades in-house for AI data center power projects in Bastrop, Texas.
Read at thestreet.com ↗24
Five major Chinese solar manufacturers, including Longi, TCL Zhonghuan, GCL Technology, Daqo New Energy, and Xinte Energy, reported financial losses for the first half of 2026.
Read at pv-magazine.com ↗25
Nigeria's GDP grew by 4.43% in the second quarter of 2026, marking the fastest pace in five years.
Read at semafor.com ↗8 of 9 financial results events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What research was published in manufacturing this week?
New research findings and studies published this week.
26
Gigaphoton Inc. will present advancements in its tin laser-produced plasma (Sn-LPP) EUV lightsource technology at the SPIE Photomask Technology + EUV Lithography Conference in Monterey, California.
Read at semiconductor-digest.com ↗27
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research published a study in Nature identifying that electrically charged water drops cause corrosion on surfaces like car paint and metal.
Read at gizmodo.com ↗28
A survey conducted by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in 2026 reveals that the majority of manufacturing companies are still in the testing phase regarding the implementation of physical AI.
Read at assemblymag.com ↗29
Claire Kearns-McCoy and Michael Scott from Intertek CEA report an increasing trend of junction box failures in utility-scale and rooftop solar installations.
Read at pv-magazine.com ↗30
Stanford University researcher Qi Zheng presented a new plasma heating method for cement production at the American Chemical Society meeting on August 25, 2026.
Read at gizmodo.com ↗What partnerships were announced in manufacturing this week?
Partnerships, integrations and joint projects announced this week.
31
The Lowe's Foundation has launched the Building Futures Skilled Trades Coalition, a national initiative aiming to train one million people for skilled trades careers by 2035.
Read at thestreet.com ↗32
Siemens Energy will manufacture steam turbine components for the first three Rolls-Royce SMR small modular reactors at the Gwyndod project in North Wales.
Read at world-nuclear-news.org ↗33
The ARM Institute has formed a consortium to modernize military manufacturing facilities.
Read at arminstitute.org ↗34
Pegatron and Deloitte Taiwan signed a memorandum of understanding on September 3, 2026.
Read at digitimes.com ↗35
The nonprofit Bring Back the Trades and Milwaukee Tool launched a monthly grant program in April 2026 to provide $1,500 worth of professional-grade tools to vocational schools in the United States.
Read at constructionexec.com ↗What else happened in manufacturing this week?
Developments from the week that fit none of the other sections.
36
Foundry industry wafer prices and utilization rates are expected to remain high through 2027 due to sustained AI-driven demand.
Read at digitimes.com ↗37
The Chinese warehouse automation market has evolved through three distinct phases since 2008, shifting from manufacturing-focused demand to an e-commerce-driven boom that peaked in 2021.
Read at sdcexec.com ↗38
Mike Schmidt, a former Commerce Department official, discusses the implementation of the 2022 U.S. CHIPS Act with host Peter Harrell on the Security Economics podcast.
Read at lawfaremedia.org ↗39
The report provides an outlook for the United States solar manufacturing sector through 2030.
Read at pv-tech.org ↗40
Manufacturers are increasingly moving away from just-in-time supply chain models in favor of just-in-case strategies.
Read at assemblymag.com ↗41
Elon Musk has expressed an interest in manufacturing power-turbine components, specifically blades and vanes.
Read at wsj.com ↗42
The Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing growth slowed in August 2026.
Read at supplychaindive.com ↗43
Daily freight movements at the Colombia-Solidarity International Bridge in Laredo, Texas, have increased by 1,000% since 2022, rising from 800 to 10,000 loads per day.
Read at freightwaves.com ↗8 of 16 other developments events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.