1. Industry & Manufacturing

2. Big Ideas Industrial Revolution Industrial Regions Site & Situation
Hotelling locational model
Weber least cost theory
August Losch
Pollution

3. Industrial Revolution
Series of improvements in industrial technology that transformed the process of manufacturing good
Transformation was for more than industrial
Changes involved a gradual diffusion of new ideas & techniques
Commonly used to define the process that began in the UK in the late 1700s

4. Industrial Region Europe
Rhine-Ruhr Valley: iron & steel due to proximity of coal fields
Mid-Rhine: most centrally located.
Po Basin: numerous workers & inexpensive hydroelectricity
NE Spain: fastest growing manufacturing
Moscow: oldest industrial region
St. Petersburg – shipbuilding
Urals – proximity to minerals has attracted chemical, machinery, & metal fabricating
Volga – largest petroleum & natural gas
Silesia – skilled by low paid workforce & proximity to wealthy markets

5. Industrial Region North America
New England: cotton textile till the early 19th century
Middle Atlantic: attracts industries with a need for proximity to consumers
Mohawk Valley: takes advantage of inexpensive electricity
Pittsburgh-Lake Erie: leading steel producer till late 19th due to proximity of coal & iron
Western Great Lakes: hub of transportation
SE Ontario: Canada’s most important industrial area

6. Industrial Region Asia
Japan: initially became industrial power by producing goods that could be sold in large quantity
China: largest supply of low-cost labor & world’s largest market for many consumer products
South Korea: export-oriented. Leading producer of ocean going ships.

7. Site & Situation
Site factors – result from the unique characteristics of a location
Situation – involves transporting materials to & from a location
Proximity to Inputs: optimal location is as close as possible to inputs if the cost of transporting raw material is greater than the product to consumer
Bulk reducing industries – “take something out during manufacturing”
Proximity to Markets – optimal location is close to consumers if the cost of transporting to consumers is higher
Bulk gaining industries – “add something in during manufacturing”
Perishable products

8. Hotelling
Location can not be understood without reference to other industries of the same kind
Businesses depend on the geographic proximity to other businesses, attractions, etc. to stay in business or the consumer wants/needs the company in a specific location

9. Weber Industrial equivalent to the Von Thünen Model
Manufacturing will locate where costs are the least
Transportation – best site is where cost to transport material & finished product if lowest
Labor – high labor costs reduce profit-location. Location near cheap labor can offset transportation
Agglomeration – when a group of industries cluster for mutual benefit

10. Losch
Determine the locations manufacturing plants could choose to maximize profit
Firms will try to identify a cone in which some kind of profit can be expected
To left & right, distance decay will make sales unprofitable
Will try to situate themselves away from the margins of that zone
Other businesses can always change the configuration of that zone