Industry and services

Industrialization

The process of developing industry in a country or region, example a country builds more factories.

Industry

The part of the economy that makes goods or services, example a car factory.

Industrial Revolution

A major change from hand production to machine production, example textile machines replaced hand sewing.

Europe

One of the first major industrial regions, example Great Britain industrialized early.

North America

A major industrial region, especially the U.S. and Canada, example the Rust Belt had many old factories.

East Asia

A major industrial region today, example China and Japan have many factories.

Great Britain

The first place industrialization began, example it used coal, iron, and colonies.

Second Agricultural Revolution

New farming methods increased food production, example more food meant more workers could leave farms.

Cottage Industry

Goods made at home instead of in factories, example a family weaving cloth in their house.

Mass Manufacturing

Making many products in large amounts, example a car plant makes thousands of cars.

Site Factors

Things about the actual location of a factory, example land, labor, and capital.

Land

Space needed for a factory or business, example a company buys a large empty lot.

Labor

Workers needed to make goods, example a clothing factory needs many workers.

Capital

Money used to start or run a business, example a factory owner uses money to buy machines.

Entrepreneurship

A person who starts and runs a business, example someone opens a new bakery.

Situation Factors

Things that help a factory because of nearby places, example close to markets and roads.

Proximity to Inputs

Being close to raw materials, example a steel plant near iron ore.

Proximity to Markets

Being close to customers, example a soda plant near cities.

Transportation

Ways to move materials and products, example a factory near a highway.

Break-of-Bulk Point

Place where goods change transportation types, example a port where ships unload to trucks.

Bulk-Gaining Industry

An industry where the final product is heavier or bigger than inputs, example a soda factory.

Bulk-Reducing Industry

An industry where the final product is smaller or lighter than inputs, example a copper smelter.

Manufacturing Location

Where a factory chooses to build, example a plant near a port.

Weber’s Least Cost Theory

Factories locate where costs are lowest, example a plant chooses the cheapest shipping spot.

Agglomeration

Businesses cluster together in one area, example many tech companies in one city.

Hotelling’s Location Theory

Similar businesses locate near each other to attract customers, example two ice cream shops on the same street.

Losch’s Zone of Profitability

The area where a business can make a profit, example a store only opens where enough people will buy.

Fordist Production

Mass production with each worker doing one task, example one worker installs doors all day.

Post-Fordist Production

Flexible production with smaller, changing jobs, example a factory quickly changes what it makes.

Flexible Manufacturing

Making different products easily, example a machine switches between phone cases and chargers.

Footloose Industry

An industry that can locate almost anywhere, example a software company.

Silicon Valley

A major tech region in California, example many computer companies are there.

Research Triangle

A tech and research area in North Carolina, example universities and tech jobs cluster there.

Outsourcing

Hiring another company or country to do work, example a U.S. company hires a factory in India.

Comparative Advantage

Producing what you make best and trading for the rest, example one country makes phones, another makes wheat.

Commodity Chain

The steps from raw material to finished product, example cotton becomes a shirt.

Friction of Distance

Distance makes things harder and more expensive, example shipping far away costs more.

Just-in-Time Delivery

Materials arrive only when needed, example a car plant gets parts daily.

Maquiladora

Factory in Mexico near the U.S. border, example a U.S. company builds a plant in Mexico.

New International Division of Labor

Jobs move from rich countries to poorer countries, example clothing work shifts to Asia.

Deindustrialization

Loss of factory jobs in a region, example Detroit lost many manufacturing jobs.

Rust Belt

Old industrial region in the northeastern and midwestern U.S., example cities with shrinking factories.

SEZs/EEZs

Special zones that attract industry with tax or trade benefits, example a city area made for new factories.

Intermodal Connections

Points where different transportation modes connect, example trucks unload at rail yards.

Sun belt

Southern U.S. region with rapid growth as factories moved from Rust Belt, example Florida and Texas gained manufacturing jobs.

Growth Poles

Cities or areas that spark economic growth around them, example a tech hub attracts more businesses nearby.

Complementarity

When two places have goods/services that match each other for trade, example one area has raw cotton, another has textile factories.

Comparative Advantage

When a country produces goods at a lower opportunity cost than others and specializes in them for trade, example Brazil grows coffee cheaper than Japan so Brazil exports coffee while importing electronics.