Global Industrial Distribution and Regional Hubs

Global Distribution of Industrial Activities

Industrial activities are concentrated in developed countries, especially in four large areas: the European Union, the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Industrial activities are now being redistributed worldwide because developed countries are becoming deindustrialized. They are transferring some of their production processes to other countries where labour and environmental legislation is less strict.

Industrial Development in the European Union

The Industrial Revolution began in England and spread to Belgium, France, and Germany, making Europe the most industrialized region in the world throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Today’s European Union is very industrially diverse, featuring:

• A skilled workforce
• Large infrastructure networks (transport and telecommunications)
• A large single market
• Cutting-edge technology

The industrial regions form a dense area with a central axis, starting in the north of Italy and continuing through Switzerland, the Franco-German border, and Luxembourg to Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the various industrial areas of the United Kingdom.

There are numerous secondary industrial areas around this central axis, such as the Mediterranean arc (from the north of Italy to north-east Spain) and the east of Germany. There are also peripheral industrial centres around large cities, such as Madrid or Stockholm.

The European Blue Banana Corridor

The European Blue Banana, also known as the European Backbone or the Bluemerang, is an urban corridor of industry that stretches from North West England to Northern Italy. Some of the cities included in this corridor are:

• London (UK)
• Randstad (the Netherlands)
• Frankfurt (Germany)
• Zurich (Switzerland)
• Milan (Italy)

All of them are characterized by their high concentration of capital, people, and industry.

Industry in the United States and Canada

The United States is the country with the highest industrial production rate in the world. It has abundant energy and mineral resources, the most advanced technology, large financial resources, a skilled workforce, and a large, dynamic domestic market.

Traditionally, industry in the United States was concentrated in the north-east, from the Great Lakes (around Pittsburgh, Chicago for heavy industry, and Detroit for the automotive industry) to the Atlantic Coast (from Boston to Baltimore, with its commercial and financial centre in New York). California and the petrochemical industry in the Gulf of Mexico were also important.

However, over the last few decades, industrial dispersal has occurred, creating other industrial centres:

• The South-West: Cutting-edge research and new technology industries in California.
• The North Pacific: Around Seattle, which has an important aerospace industry.
• Canada: Major cities such as Montreal and Ottawa.

Industrial Landscape of Eastern Europe

Most Eastern European countries are industrialized but less technologically developed than the countries in the European Union. They have natural resources, raw materials, and energy sources, especially in the Russian Federation.

The textile, petrochemical, wood, metallurgical, and metallurgical processing industries are the most important. There are large iron and coal deposits in the Ural Mountains and the region to the north of the Black Sea (Donbass), so there is an important metallurgy industry here. There are other important industrial regions around Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and in western Siberia (Kuzbass).