BANGKOK—Southern Thailand is on alert over the possibility of pestalotiopsis disease (fungal disease) in natural rubber plantations, according to the International Rubber Consortium.

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Preparation and knowledge of your company's past safety issues are important to know before the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows up at your factory.

COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is hitting hard at the issue of lockout/tag-out and machine safety guarding and putting a laser focus on amputations that could result from failure to disconnect all energy before servicing and maintenance of industrial machines.

PITTSBURGH—The United Steelworkers union voted to ratify a new three-year contract with Michelin's two BF Goodrich sites.

BEIJING—China's tire production and sales volume recorded the first drop in more than two decades in 2018, against the backdrop of the first global downturn for the automotive industry in the past ten years.

HSINCHU, Taiwan—Plastic injection molding simulation technology supplier CoreTech System (Moldex3D) has partnered with Austrian machinery maker Wittmann Battenfeld to advance liquid silicone rubber injection molding and smart manufacturing.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—Global oil giant Saudi Aramco plans to invest $15 billion in a Reliance Industries unit that includes one of the world's largest polypropylene businesses.

WASHINGTON—As U.S. imports of Chinese-made mattresses fall steeply in the wake of tariffs—some reaching as high as 1,732 percent—Southeast Asia manufacturers are quickly filling the gap.

Four auto makers down and 14 to go. That's the view from California as it leads the charge to pressure more manufacturers to join a compromise deal on tougher fuel economy and emissions standards.