Spain's Manufacturing Boomtown Feels Economic Slump

"The capital of Spain's fastest-growing region, inland Zaragoza kept booming even as the overbuilt Mediterranean coast came to symbolize how real estate excess was not just an American ailment."

"But just as the cold autumn wind is blowing down from the Pyrenees, Zaragoza and the surrounding region of Aragón have suddenly been hit by a sharp economic downturn. And the troubles here make clear that what had been seen as a crisis confined largely to finance and real estate is quickly spreading to more fundamental sectors of the European economy, such as manufacturing."

"Zaragoza, which at peak capacity is capable of churning out more than 2,000 subcompacts, small minivans and delivery trucks a day, was one of seven G.M. plants in Europe to go on hiatus in October."