INDUSTRIAL GEOGRAPHY

The Industrial Revolution

• Growing European domestic markets & a lacking labor force

• Increased transportation and communications

• Steam-power for ocean-going vessels

Situation Factors• If the cost of transporting the product

exceeds the cost of transporting inputs, then the optimal plant location is as close as possible to the customer.

• If the inputs are more expensive to transport, then locate near these.

LOCATE NEAR THE INPUTS

OR

LOCATE NEAR THE CUSTOMER(MARKET)

BULK-REDUCING INDUSTRIES

• Must be located

near the original

large input sources (COPPER)

• Iron-Ore and coal

(to make steel)

Go where they

are mined

Location Near Markets:

1. BULK-GAINING INDUSTRIES

• Gains volume or weight during production

• Soft Drinks: 2 inputs syrup and water, bulky, heavy to transport, ships syrup to bottlers, WATER IS EVERYWHERE, produce near customers

Types of industries

• 2. Perishable Products: milk, fresh fruit, newspapers (hard copy)

• 3. Single-market manufacturers: products sold in 1 location near your market

New York Fashions

Car part plants are located near assembly plants

Transportation

• Ship, rail, truck, or air: choose the cheapest one according to weight, how far it is being shipped

• Trucks=short distance

• Trains=long distance

• Small bulk, high value=air freight

Break of Bulk Point=intermodal: locate where can transfer among many transportation modes

Site Factors: Land, Labor, capital

• Land-factories are usually rural or suburban, need large tracts of land to build 1 story (more energy efficient and cheaper)

• Low-electrical rates• Amenities, mild climate, opportunities for

outdoor recreation, usually south or west• Cultural centers or sports franchises,

whatever the owner’s interests are

Labor: intensive industry is one in which labor is a high percentage of the expense.

• -highly skilled to increase the profits

• Less-skilled, inexpensive labor, Indonesia

• (in Southeast U.S.)• Textiles and clothing: spin fibers

to make yarn, weave or knit yarn into fabric, bleach, dye, cutting, sewing into clothing or other products

Usually located in plants where the input of cotton is grown, China, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, U.S.

Cotton Production

Capital: manufacturers borrow money to establish new factories or expand one

• -vehicle industry moved to Michigan because banks made loans

• -Silicon Valley-skilled labor and banks willing to invest in new ideas ¼ of all capital in U.S. spent on new industries here

LDCs: distribution of industry must seek loans from MDCs:

• Difficult to do…..WHY?

• 1. unstable political system

• 2. high debt level

• 3. ill-advised economic policies

Local and city gov’t provide incentives to locate industries there

• 1. grants• 2. low-cost loans• 3. tax breaks

http://projects.flowingdata.com/walmart/

Footloose industries

• Can locate anywhere, owners can choose an inferior place to maximize profits

-pick a place to ensure survival of the firm

-small firm, may pick for personal reasons

The Location Decision

Weber's model: the “least cost theory”– Minimization of three critical expenses

1. Transportation costs

2. Labor costs

3. Agglomeration

Resources

• De Blij, Harm, J. (2007). Human Geography People, Place and Culture. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

• Domosh, Mona, Neumann, Roderic, Price, Patricia, & Jordan-Bychkov, 2010. The Human Mosaic, A Cultural Approach to Human Geography. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.

• Fellman, Jerome, D., Getis, Arthur, & Getis, Judith, 2008. Human Geography, Landscapes of Human Activities. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

• Pulsipher, Lydia Mihelic and Alex M. and Pulsipher, 2008. World Regional Geography, Global Patterns, Local Lives. W.H. Freeman and Company New York.  

• Rubenstein, James M. (2008). An introduction to human geography The cultural landscape. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

• Benewick, Robert, & Donald, Stephanie H. (2005). The State of

China Atlas. Berkeley: University of California Press.