Industrials

The owner of a Pennsylvania company that makes steel-processing equipment has been sentenced to 12 months on probation under a plea deal for conspiring to illegally sell an $800,000 machine to an Iranian firm.

Growers say labor woes at major West Coast sea ports have slowed the export of a record crop of Washington apples and endangered big Christmas season shipments of the fruit to Central America.

The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are facing their biggest crisis in a decade as container ships idle offshore because cargo can't be moved off the docks fast enough.

Federal authorities say a business in a small Utah town tried to ship rifle scopes to Russia and China without a license.

China announced Sunday the lifting of restrictions on foreign investment for several industries, from green tea to civil airplane engines, in a special free trade zone in the business hub of Shanghai.

Japan and India both have much to gain from a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and more than a dozen Indian steel, energy and IT tycoons that begins Saturday in the ancient capital of Kyoto.

Louisiana exports grew by 9.3 percent to $32.1 billion during the first half of the year.

They export BMWs and birdseed and plenty in between.

A pickup in China's growth has fortified confidence the world's second-biggest economy will avoid a precipitous slowdown as the past decade's explosive growth decelerates to the 7 percent range.

An educational video game has been edited following a social media backlash over a scene depicting slaves being packed into a ship.

A year after Japan eased a longstanding ban on military exports, barely a trickle of deals has formed for its powerhouse manufacturers who are reckoning with latecomer status in a crowded global industry.

As Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe oversees an increase to the country's military capability, he has also eased a decades-old ban on military exports, enabling defense contractors to expand their markets beyond Japan's Self-Defense Forces.

China has eased controls on exports of rare earths, minerals used in mobile phones and other high-tech products, after losing a World Trade Organization case brought by Washington.

Japan has approved the export of a locally-made component for a missile defense system to the U.S. and is launching joint research with Britain on air-to-air missile technology for fighter jets.

Auto plants, clothing makers and plastics factories drove a sharp rebound in manufacturing in July.

Orders to U.S. factories dropped for a fifth consecutive month in December, while a key category that signals business investment plans fell for a fourth straight month.

Midwestern manufacturing activity rose to its highest level since May in August, according to the most recent data from the ISM-Chicago.

Business orders for long-lasting manufactured goods shot up by the largest amount on record in July but much of the strength came from a huge surge in demand for commercial aircraft.

Orders to U.S. factories increase in June, led by demand for aircraft, industrial machinery and computers and electronics.

Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rebounded in June after a May decline, helped by a recovery in demand in a key category that signals business investment plans.