Nikkei Asian Review is reporting, Japan Display is in talks with Apple and Sharp to sell its main Hakusan factory in Ishikawa Prefecture, multiple sources told Nikkei on Friday. Japan Display, commonly known as JDI, has been restructuring its business and suspended display production at the factory in July due to poor sales. The company hopes sale of …

China’s Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council announced on Monday tariffs on some imports will be reduced starting Jan 1.  Temporary tariff rates, which are set for a specified period, will be applied to 859 items. Designated items will enjoy import tariffs lower than the existing most-favored-nation rates in 2020. Tariffs on some high-tech …

The overall outlook for manufacturing remains sluggish, though electronics continue to recover and outperform the rest of the manufacturing sector (see data below).   The headline number was dragged down by orders for defense aircraft and parts, which plummeted 72.7% in November.   Stripping out defense goods, shipments were up 0.1% and orders up 0.8%. New Orders …