Manufacturing Business News: Emotionally Expressive Robots, a Pharmaceutical Importation Investigation and Other Headlines

While we have a great staff of dedicated editors here at IndustryWeek, we can’t write about everything. So, here’s a roundup of news from our parent company Endeavor Business Media’s many news brands.

• Tariff Turbulence and the Impacts on Industrial Automation Technologies: “If the Trump administration has shown industry anything so far with its back-and-forth on tariffs, it’s that manufacturers should plan to be certain of uncertainty,” writes Automation World Editor-in-Chief David Greenfield. In this article, multiple automation industry leaders share insights into how new tariffs will impact automation products.
• Podcast: The Practical Guide to AI on the Factory Floor: In this episode of Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast, New Equipment Digest Editor-in-Chief Laura Davis explains the difference between Generative and Agentic AI, current real-world applications for AI in manufacturing, key AI implementation challenges and strategies for successful AI adoption in your operations.
• How To Achieve a Green Supply Chain in Uncertain Times: In this Material Handling & Logistics article, Tara Milburn explains that sustainability and profitability are not opposing concepts. Milburn describes the benefits of transparent and responsible business practices as well as practical strategies for gaining customer trust and loyalty like ESG reporting and third-party certifications.
• Trump Administration Launches Probe of Pharmaceutical Imports as Tariffs Loom: Pharma Manufacturing Editor-in-Chief Greg Slabodkin reports on a Department of Commerce probe looking into the feasibility of increasing domestic production of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients. The probe will also investigate whether tariffs will be needed to protect U.S. national security.
• Disney’s Wall-E-Inspired Robot is Autonomous, Emotional, and Adorable: Disney Research has introduced a robot that can autonomously interact with humans. Check out this Plant Services article to see how the researchers designed “a framework that would allow a robot to pick up on human body language, react without contact and even show different moods like a real person,” writes Senior Content Strategist Alexis Gajewski.