secondary sector

Secondary sector

Industry

Industrialization in Spain

• Industrialization started with delay in Spain. In England it has already started in the 18th century but in Spain it did not begin earlier than 1880.

• The reasons for the delay are:• Dominium of traditional agricultural society; • Lack of a strong bourgeoisie; • Problems during 18th century (Carlist wars, American colonial losses); • Few investments; • Lack of own money to be invested; • Insufficient communication infrastructure.


• Although the difficulties, in the 19th century there were two active industrial regions in Spain:• Basque Country• Catalonia


• In the Basque Country industries were located around Nervioi river and it was based on the iron extracted in the mines of the region. The industrialization was possible thanks to the restructuring of the activities, the improvement of communications and the creation of banks.

• The other was concentrated around Barcelona and the Low valley of Llobregat river, and followed the regional tradition of textile industry.

• In other regions there were isolated attempts, as is the case of Madrid, but it started later and with the backing of the State.


• This area stood until 1940-50 under state protection and it benefited from the international demand during WW1, mainly that of the belligerent countries. There were crisis, such as the 1929 crack and the Spanish Civil War.

• After 1939 Spain started a period of autarky: political isolationism and need to produce enough to supply the country.


• The second period developed after 1950, during franconist regime when the Stabilisation Plan was designed; in this moment Spain entered in the world economy and two decades of industrial development were its consequence. Society was transformed from a rural to a urban one.

Industrialization in Spain• In 1980 (Franco died in 1975), a new period began,

reducing previous rates, with exhausted sectors, and restructuring was required. In this moment there was an attempt to expand industry to regions previously forgotten.

• Required reforms were done to adequate to the new technological cycle.

• Main measures:• Regulation of workforce, • Specialization• Financial cleanness...


• Nowadays it is involved in third industrial revolution, which base is innovation and reform.

• New technologies, known as information technologies are based on microelectronics. It is a period of information revolution, which has implied changed in production, structure, localization and industrial policy.


• New industrial sectors have been introduced: Telematics, automatism, adjustment tools...

• Structure tends to be decentralised. • There have been changes in industrial

implantation and industrial policy with the reduction of the interventionism and the increasing concern about environmental matters...

Industrial localization in Spain• In Spain the number of factories in restructuring

process continues being important; the most dynamic sectors have foreign capital and use advanced technologies, even when some of them are in a primary stage.

• The problems are the following:• Reduce the production,• Reduce the competitiveness,• European policies aimed at reducing production• And in this way devote less money to aids

Industrial localization in Spain• Sectors :

• Basic iron industry and metallic transformation:

• iron industries, steel made in furnaces (the furnaces of the Mediterranean and Biscay closed down and they were privatised and united with two European companies, reducing costs).

• Metallic transformation industries manufacture machines of any kind.

Industrial localization in Spain

• Production of electric appliances for houses is involved in a process of restructuring. Some factories have been closed down.

• Shipbuilding in Galisia, Cantabria and Basque Country was transformed and slowly other specialities have been introduced.

• Leather and shoemaking have two branches: materials produced through chemical technologies and clothe. Factories are small, distributed in wide areas and they use abundant working force. The must compete with the production of other foreign countries.

Industrial localization in Spain• Dynamic industrial sectors have varied

possibilities looking at the future: high productivity and specialization, appropriate structures, secure demand, abundant foreign capital.

• Car industry has suffered a restructuring process and multinationals assumed the official aids given to the sector. It exported but it requires technological improvements.

Industrial localization in Spain• Chemistry sectors is one of the

basic in Spain but little research is done. Petro-chemistry is important in Puertollano and transformation chemistry in the Basque Autonomous Community.

• Alimentary industries are spread and multinationals are influential on them.

• Construction has decreased during the last years.

Industrial localization in Spain• In Spain highly technified sectors are

high technologies, micro-electronics, telematic and they have started with delay, due to several difficulties: • Backwardness related to foreign countries; • Medium and small factories are the most

important but they competitiveness is scarce; • Work force and studies are not appropriate

for its demands.

• Their location is in metropolis or in urban areas.

Industrial localization in Spain• Looking at results, they are able to

attract multinationals in order to introduce innovations and develop research but many of them do not have links with other companies in the State.

• Differences have increased because companies using new technologies tend to locate in the most dynamic axes.

Industrial localization in Spain• Nowadays Spain’s industry presents certain structural

problems:• The size of the factories is not appropriate, because the

majority are small or medium. Products are expensive and they can compete, being far away from the European Union factories.

• Research is scarce, investments are concentrated in some sectors (electronics, computers) and in certain places (Madrid, Catalonia).

• It depends on foreign technology and it is characterised by its backwardness. They import a lot but they export less.

• The main consequences are the scarce productivity and the low quality, with high prices that find difficulty to compete.

Industrial localization in Spain• Traditional factors have lost their importance in the location

of industries:• Natural resources are not a requisite as before; sea transport

is cheap and some synthetic materials have been developed. Energy is easy to transport.

• Regions around markets are not determinant and nowadays dependency towards markets is not so important.

• Transport and communications have improved so distances are not a problem.

• Work force is important, because they need profesionals.• The main factor is innovation.

Industrial localization in Spain• Trends to locate industries: they encourage the

creation of factories in peripheral areas but traditional industrial regions continue being attractive.

• Industries begin developing in regions not used until the present: too big concentrations of industries create problems; in the periphery it is easier to reduce costs, development of endogenous industries, use the resources of any region.

• But central spaces continue being attractive because they count with several services, advances infrastructures and they need a big market. This trend in similar in the US, Japan and other places.

Industrial localization in Spain• The location of Spanish industries in different spaces leads to a

regional disequilibrium in population distribution, richness, infrastructures, equipment and political weight. The following areas can be distinguished: developed, regions in crisis, expanding regions, areas of limited industrialization.


• Developed industries, there are central spaces of metropolis, as Madrid and Barcelona.

• Areas in expansion, normally they are around metropolis (Low Llobregat, the left margin of Bilbo’s outlet, the South of Madrid).

• Sometimes they come from the traditional industries and they are grouped in industrial polygons.

• Other times there are innovative factories and they are grouped in technological parks.

• The development axes are located along the main communication nets, this is, Ebro valley and Mediterranean. Here there are nets of motorways and a tradition of artisan work. Due to this industries are not concentrated but they can be easily linked.


• Areas in recession : Asturias, Cantabria and some other isolated areas. Until recently the Basque Autonomous Community was included in this group but changes have alter the situation.

• Industries are not diversified and they can not create alternative jobs. In general there are big factories with medium and small under their dependence so all of them are suffering the same crisis.

• Little specialization of work market.• Environment has been negatively affected.• The entrance in the EU complicate the situation and some

jobs were lost.


• Areas of inducted industrialization: Aragon, Castile and Leon and Andalusia were industrialised later. There are huge differences in comparison with other areas. In Aragon Zaragoza, in Castile-Leon Valladolid and Burgos and in Andalusia Seville, Cadiz and Huelva.

• Areas of scarce industrialization, Castile-Mancha, Extremadura, Balears and Canaries.

Industrial localization in Spain• In relation to the environmental problems linked

to industry:• Natural resources are overexploited and some of them

are exhausted;• Some industries pollute the environment; • The aesthetic value of the landscape has been

deteriorated.

Industrial localization in Spain• Nowadays industrial policy consists

of reducing the influence of the State.• It has opened to the exterior because

at entering in the EU it is involved in globalization. Foreign capital has entered, from Europe. This have affected the most dynamic sectors and due to this decisions are taken out of the country.

• The most competitive factories have been privatised and their traditional debts have disappeared.

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