Industry Flashcards
Define ‘processes’
The events or activities that take place to make a product
Define ‘outputs’
The finished product that is sold to the consumer
What are examples of physical inputs?
Land, transport, raw materials
What are examples of economic inputs?
Labour force, capital, transport costs, raw material costs, energy costs, TNCs, market
What are examples of social inputs?
Skill levels, traditions
What are examples of political inputs?
Grants, political unions
Give examples of processes
Assembly
Maintenance
Packaging
Transport
What are the three main types of outputs?
Processed goods, components, manufactured goods
Give examples of processed goods
Fruit juices, tea, sugar, tinned fruit, cement, textile yarn (processed agricultural products)
Give examples of components
Car parts, bottles, sheet steel, nuts and bolts (raw materials for other industries)
Give examples of manufactured goods
Cars, clothing, shoes, radios (sold to the public)
What is ‘manufacturing’?
The general term used to describe the secondary sector of economic activity which involves the making of goods
What are processing industries?
Industries based on the direct processing of raw materials
Define ‘inputs’
The things needed to make or create a product. These may be physical or human
What are assembly industries?
Industries based on the routine assembly of products manufactured elsewhere
What are high technology industries?
These involve the use of research and development to create high value, technology-based products and processes.
What is the difference between heavy and light industry?
Heavy industry uses large amounts of bulky raw materials, processing on a large scale and producing final products of significant size (iron) while light industry is the manufacture of small and light items (computers)
What are footloose industries?
Industries which have a much wider choice of location than processing industries (assembly)
What are the physical factors affecting the location of industry?
Raw materials-factories need to be close to these if they are heavy and bulky to transport
Energy supply-needed to work machines in a factory
Natural routes-products are sold worldwide now due to globalisation so it is important to be close to natural routes
Site and land-most industries require large accessible areas of cheap flat land to build their factories
Water supply-especially for manufacturing industry
What are the human factors affecting the location of industry?
Labour-cheap labour is needed in some industries and skilled labour is needed in others, especially quaternary
Market-an accessible place to sell products is essential for many industries
Transport-good transport network reduces costs and makes the movement of materials easier
Capital-the money that is invested to start the business determines its size and location
Nearby universities-for quaternary sectors that need to carry out research and development
Good communications-contact suppliers and customers
Government policies-industrial development is encouraged and restricted in some areas
What is industrial agglomeration?
The clustering together of economic activities that can result in companies enjoying the benefits of external economies of scale. This means lowering a firm’s costs due to external factors.
What are urbanisation economies?
Cost savings resulting from urban location due to factors like range of producer services available and the investment in infrastructure already in place
What are localisation economies?
Occur when a firm locates close to suppliers or firms that it supplies. This reduces transport costs, allows for faster deliver and facilitates a high level of personal communication between firms.
How is the location of industry changing and why?
Global shift in manufacturing world from developed world to NICs and LEDCs as it is cheaper
Urban to greenfield rural location as is it cheaper
In the inner city the suburbs increase due to loss of employment
Factors affecting location of high-tech industries
Easy access to airports Proximity to other high tech industries Attractive working environment Good services Close to research establishments and universities Access to highly skilled work force Government incentives Good road links
Give examples of products produces by high tech industries
Silicon chips Computers Software Robots Aerospace components
What are high tech industries known to do?
Invest a lot of money into scientific research
Develop newer, advanced ideas
Why do high tech industries cluster together?
So companies can collaborate easily on joint projects and highly skilled workers can move easily from one company to another
