Flows of products, services and labour

Question 1

Containerisation

Answer 1

System of standardised transport that uses large standard size steel containers to transport goods.

Question 2

Conglomerate

Answer 2

A collection of different companies which may involved in different business activities however all report back to the same parent company.

Question 3

How much of manufacturing was concentrated in Western Europe, North America and Japan in 1954?

Answer 3

Around 95%
Products were generally consumed in the country of origin.

Question 4

How did the distribution of manufacturing change?

Answer 4

Shifted to Asian ‘Tiger’ Economies, BRIC’s and MINTS

In the UK, Manufacturing jobs decreased by 50% between 1983 to 2013.

Question 5

Give an example of a global shift in labour

Answer 5

Maquiladora
A manufacturing operation located in the free trade zones in Mexico, they import materials for assembly and then export the final product without trade barriers.

The lower production and trade costs, as well as tax incentives, aim to foreign investors and firms, improving FDI in Mexico.

In 1994 there was around 2000 Maquiladoras with 500,000 workers in Mexico, shortly after this these numbers almost doubled due to NAFTA.

Currently, around 80% of all goods produced in Mexico are shipped to the US. Additionally, Maquildoras are responsible for 65% of Mexico’s exports.