Understanding Industrial Development, Location, and Global Distribution

Understanding Industrial Development

The location of industries became dependent on factors such as new energy sources, efficient and low-cost transportation, and proximity to consumption centers like cities.

Mature industries that emerged during the industrialization process faced crises in the 1970s due to outdated production methods, obsolete products, and competition from countries with lower production costs.

Landscapes of Industrial Development

• Based on the use of new information technologies for instant data transmission and robotics for automated work.
• Work often takes place in smaller factories, as new technologies allow for splitting the manufacturing process into phases performed in separate facilities.
• Production results in small series of diverse products, adapting to the requirements of individual demand.
• Industrial locations are much more flexible due to factors like transportation and the adoption of new technologies.

Spatial dispersion affects industries seeking areas with cheap land and labor, higher tax incentives, or lax environmental regulations.

Spatial concentration affects industries utilizing new technologies, which require access to innovation, information, highly qualified staff, and advanced infrastructure, equipment, and services.

The Global Distribution of Industry

The main industrial concentrations are found in more developed areas like the United States, Japan, and the European Union.

• The United States is a leading industrial power due to the availability of raw materials, energy sources, advanced technology, and extensive internal markets.
• The European Union's high level of industrialization is rooted in a long industrial tradition, although its technology lags behind the U.S. and Japan.
• Japan, despite being resource-poor, industrialized rapidly and possesses advanced technology, an abundant and skilled labor force, and a large market in the East.

Other Industrial Sites

Other industrial sites are located in developed or developing areas with some of the following features:

• Ample natural resources: Russia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, and some oil-producing countries, such as Venezuela and those in the Middle East.
• Abundant and cheap labor: China and the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs).

Less industrialized areas are located in underdeveloped countries due to a lack of resources and capital, market shortages, and poor communications. Cottage industries still predominate in much of Africa and parts of the Americas.