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Questions for Chapter 11 – Review
Nothing on Pollution – you will have to review Key Issue #3!
1.
Approximately ¾ of the world’s industrial production is concentrated in 4 regions of the world. What
are they? Eastern NA, Northwestern Europe, East Asia, Eastern Europe
2. Industrial Revolution began in: GB or UK
3. Geographers recognize that connections are important to explain why a particular place is suitable for
industry. 2 connections: where the markets are & where the resources are
4. Outside of Europe, NA, and East Asia, the next 2 largest industrial producing countries are: India and
Brazil
5. After the Northeast US, the second largest industrial region in the USA is: So. CA
6. Industrial Revolution began in: late 1700s
7. The I.R. can be explained by a gradual diffusion of 3 inventions: social, economic, political
8. The cottage industry system is involved manufacturing: in the home
9. The main source of power for steam engines and blast ovens is produced from: coal
10. The most important transportation improvement in the 18th century was the: canal
11. Western Europe’s principal industrial areas include 3 areas: UK, Rhine-Ruhr, Mid-Rhine, Northern
Italy
12. Today, the most significant industrial asset of the Western Great Lakes region is its what? access to
the nation’s transportation network
13. In order to become a major industrial power, Japan had to overcome a problem of what? Distance from
consumers
14. Convergence regions are found primarily where in Europe? Central Europe (E and S where incomes lag)
15. The shift in steel production locations in the USA from the mid-nineteenth century until the midtwentieth century started in the NE migrated towards the ___________ and now resides in
____________. Midwest, East and West coasts
16. Alfred Weber put together a Least Cost Theory of Industry in 1909. According to Weber, there are
two geographical costs to consider when deciding where to place an industry. Site and situation
17. What are the two factors of situation? Bulk-gaining and bulk-reducing
18. What does bulk-reducing mean? The industry is working with huge raw materials like what is found
in copper or steel or mining. The product needs to be reduced to transport to a city. The
industry factory must be placed near the raw materials. It is more cost effective that way.
Explain?
19. What is a bulk-gaining industry? The industry’s raw materials are small and combined into a larger
product. Always located near large cities. The final product grows into a final product and is
easier to transport because it’s assembled within the city. (newspaper, Pepsi, Coke, bread, car,
airplane)
20. Copper concentration mill tends to locate near a copper mine because it is a: bulk-reducing industry
21. Metal fabrication plants are an example of a bulk-gaining industry because : separate parts are
combined to make more complex and massive products
22. Situation costs are critical to a firm that wishes to: minimize transport costs
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23. Site factors equal 3 important considerations: land, labor, and capital
24. The U.S. steel industry moved westward in the nineteenth century primarily because of better access
to: iron ore
25. Producers of automobiles select locations primarily because of access to: markets
26. The lowest-cost form of transporting goods very long distance is by: boat
27. A company which uses more than one mode of transport will often locate near: break-of-bulk points
28. Beer bottling is an example of a : bulk-gaining industry
29. Maquiladoras have an advantage of proximity to U.S. markets but are a bit too far for: just in time
deliveries.
30. What is the definition of a maquiladora? Factories built by U.S. companies near the US border to
take advantage of much lower labor costs in Mexico.
31. How do the Mexican people benefit by being a part of a Maquiladora? Higher wage job than normal
Mexican employment. Bus ticket paid by plant. 2 meals at the plant.
32. How does the Mexico government benefit from Maquiladoras? Mexicans earn money and spend it in
Mexico. Helps the Mexican economy. Mexico gov’t is stable. Provides USA with tax breaks.
Trade agreement like NAFTA between Mexico, US, and Canada.
33. Compared to other industries, aluminum manufacturers are more likely to locate near sources of : lowcost energy due to need for water – but also they need electricity
34. What industry is most dependent on low-cost labor? Textiles
35. What is Fordist production? Form of mass production in which each worker is assigned one specific
task to perform repeatedly.
36. Henry Ford boasted that he could do what 2 things for people? He could take people off the streets +
put them to work with only a few minutes of training.
37. Central Europe offers an attractive combination of important site and situation factors. The two are:
less skilled but cheaper labor than Western Europe
38. Both Europe and USA have seen interregional shifts in manufacturing, but one difference is: Europe
government policies have encouraged relocation
39. Steel production has declined during 1980-2008 most rapidly in: USA. Where in 2013? China
40. What western European country has experienced the most rapid manufacturing growth since the late
20th century? Spain
41. Maintaining control over all phases of a highly complex production process is known as: vertical
integration
42. The U.S. government distinguishes between foreign and domestic cars in 3 ways: measure fuel
efficiency, set tariffs, inform customers under the American Automobile Labeling Act
43. What 2 location/situation factors influence industries to remain in the northeastern US and
northwestern Europe? Skilled labor and rapid delivery to market
44. What are the advantages of northern Industry executives setting up a low-skilled labor factory in the
South USA? (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, etc.). The South supports “open shops”. The South has
many states that are considered Right-to-work states. This means a US state has passed a law
preventing a union and company from negotiating a contract that requires workers to join a union as
a condition of employment. Unions are not as successful there. People are willing to work for the
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pay the Industry is willing to give. The industries are in rural areas and people are eager to find
jobs. There are not huge cities nearby for the rural to find a job.
45. What is the difference between an “open shop” and a “closed shop”? closed shop (a company and a
union agree that everyone must join the union to work in the factory). Open shop (a company and
a union may not negotiate a contact that requires workers to join a union as a condition of
employment). More difficult in the South to organize factory workers, collect, dues, and bargain
with employers as a union’s purpose is to do just that. Right-to-work laws send a powerful
message signal that anti-union attitudes would be tolerated, even actively supported.
46. What are the disadvantages for Southern people working in a low-skilled factory set up by a huge
corporation from the Northern part of the USA? Executives know that they do not have to worry
about labor unrest. They do not have to worry about unions. They know that Southerners will
accept the pay they offer. Often the Executives only offer part-time work so they do not have
to give out benefits. The Executives can pull out of a southern State any time they want. They
can close a factory and leave the rural, Southern people without jobs. There is no loyalty to the
South. The Executives’ home base is a Northern city and that is where their loyalty remains.
47. What kind of industry work is available in the South? Textiles, call-centers, tobacco products,
furniture, access to oil and natural gas along the Gulf Coast, food processing, and aerospace
product manufacturing.
48. MDCs are hesitant to lend out funds or capital for LDCs because: political unrest, economic problems,
high debt
49. 3 traditional production factors that vary among locations are: labor, capital, land
50. ___________________ parts are delivered often within minutes to the assembly plant. Just-in-time
deliveries
51. What are the advantages of just-in-time deliveries to the manufacturing company? Reduces the $
spent on inventory; reduces the size of the factory due to not having a mountain of inventory;
52. What are the advantages of just-in-time deliveries for the producers? Have less inventory to cushion
against disruptions in the arrival of needed parts; Only 2 kinds of disruptions: labor unrest and
“acts of God”
53. __________ is the site factor that is changing dramatically in the 21st century. Labor
54. BRIC stands for: Brazil, Russia, India, and China = trade agreement with each other
55. Two geographical costs a company faces are: situation and site factors.
56. The ____ is an example of a product other than food that is highly perishable. Newspaper
57. Gulf Coast has become an industrial area for 2 products: oil and natural gas
58. Auto Alley in the US is found starting way in the north with what state? Michigan and continues down
to ____________. Georgia.
59. Labor intensive jobs are measured as _____ whereas high-wage is measured in _____. % vs. $
60. Location factors related to the transportation of materials into and from a factory is called ________.
Situation factors
61. 2 reasons why the Industrial Revolution bypassed the South? Civil War, no infrastructure, lack of
electricity, lack of roads
62. Just-in-time delivery can be disrupted in 2 ways: labor unrest, acts of God
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63. The highest manufacturer of refrigerators, stereos, and electronic equipment can be found in? Japan
64. Transfer of some types of jobs, esp. those requiring low-paid, less skilled works, from more developed to
less developed countries. New international division of labor (2 parts to the definition – know!)
65. What are positive factors of the New international division of labor? Economic
interdependence/globalization; transportation/communication; outsourcing/offshoring; foreign
management; trade agreements.
66. A decision by a corporation to turn over much of the responsibility for production to an independent
supplier is called _____________________. Outsourcing (single market supplier)
67. Textiles are dominant in what industrial sector of LDCs? India
68. Behind Europe and North America, industrial areas that are developing rapidly are in 3 areas: East
Asia, South Asia, and Latin America
69. Give an example of a single-market manufacturer: car dials, seat parts: for motor vehicles
70. The Detroit 3 automakers purchase more than ¼ of all new vehicle parts from _________. Mexico
71. Adoption by companies of flexible work hours is a part of ______ production. Post-Fordist
72. ______________ is the city most important to the Rhine-Ruhr Valley: Rotterdam
73. In the 21st Century, where are factories located in the USA? Suburbs and rural areas
74. What is a footloose industry? Businesses whose locations are not tied to resources or not tied to
transportation or not tied to consumer locations. Examples: customer-service call centers,
(unskilled labor) research and development centers (skilled labor) or corporate headquarters (highly
skilled labor). Because they are not part of the production, they can be moved or closed down
with in a short time, be moved to another site, or even eliminated.
75. What are the Detroit 3 Companies? Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors
76. What percentage of the value of any car that bears a company’s name (minus the cost of single market
parts)” 30%
77. Name South and Eastern countries that are a part of the European Union that need convergence
industries to be set-up in their countries because of high debt? Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland,
Greece
78. Name 6 industries that were impacted by the Industrial Revolution. Iron, coal, transportation,
textiles, chemicals, food processing.
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#15 MODEL – Weber’s Industry Model – Industrial Location Theory
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Alfred Weber’s Theory of Industrial Location – 1909

Still influential

The selection of optimal factory locations

Helps with the minimization of land, labor, resources, and transportation costs

Manufactured goods have a variable-cost framework that affects the potential location of factory
sites

Weber states that in terms of location, manufactured goods can be classified into two categories

They are based on the amounts of inputs in relation to product outputs

Manufactured Goods classified into 2 categories
1.
Weight-losing or bulk reducing: This involves a large amount of inputs that are reduced to a final
product that weighs less or has less volume or bulk than the inputs. These factories tend to be located
near the inputs that lose the most bulk in the manufacturing process, like trees or metal ore.

There is only 1 major input, such as seafood packaging, lumber mills, and metal or-processing or
smelting.

Industrial location is in very close proximity to the resource location.

By comparison, where there are a # of major inputs to the production process, location must be
balanced given the variable transportation costs of each input.

The inputs that lose the most bulk in the production process are relatively more expensive to
transport than those inputs that could represent a more significant portion of the finished
product.
Example: Steel

Industrial location of steel is dependent on 4 major inputs: iron ore, cola, limestone and
water.

Iron ore has the lowest loss of volume of the finished product.

Limestone is used to refine the steel and give its comparative lightness and strength.

Coal refined into coke to burn hotter, is completely lost during production.

Water is lost also which is required in large amounts to cool steel products so that they
retain their form.

Condensers often capture steam produced and recyle it into liquid.
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
Iron ore is distant elastic, meaning it can be transported over short or long distances to
the steel plant.

Coal, limestone, and water need to be in close proximity.

In US, steel production around Pittsburgh has consolidated in the 1970s using small local
sources of iron.

As production later expanded, the iron fields near Lake Superior became the main supplies
of iron ore (taconite) to large firms like United States Steel.

At this time, steel industry expanded to port locations on the Break lakes like Cleveland,
Toledo, Detroit, and Gary, Indiana.

In the case of U.S. Steel’s plan in Gary, just outside Chicago, the company found that by not
having to transport ore from Lake Erie to Pittsburgh by rail, they were able to cut
transportation costs.

Today, new steel plants tend to be much smaller operations that focus on specialized steel
products.

Steel mini-mills run by companies such as NUCOR have a # of building materials, vehicle
parts, and high-tech steel alloys for medical and aerospace sectors.

Some of the mills are located in old steel-producing cities. But others have been
constructed in Southern states where land and labor are less expensive and there are fewer
regulations.

2. Weight-gaining or bulk-gaining manufacturing involves a # of inputs that are combined to make a final
product that gains bulk, volume or weight in the production process. These factories tend to be located
closer to consumers because the cost of transporting the finished product is more than the cost of
transporting the inputs, like refrigerators.

Weight-gaining manufacturing involves the assembly of several inputs into a finished product.

As this product is more bulky and thus more costly to transport, the factory location should be
relatively close to consumers to minimize delivery costs

Basic example is bread. Flour from wheat grown in regions like the Great plains is combined
with water, sugar, and yeast to make dough that rises from the yeast’s C02 production. Once
baking is complete, the loaf of bread has gained significant volume compared to its inputs. An
added issues for food products like bread is the limited shelf life. That also affects
industrial location.

Bread, milk and other perishable products tend to be manufactured in many individual plants
that serve the local regions.

The decentralized network approach keeps fresh products in stores longer by reducing
transportation time.

Bread production is also decentralized that bakeries are found in all cities and are an example
of ubiquitous industries.

Frozen foods are made in large centralized facilities, which then ship to stores and grocery
warehouses across the country.
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
When Luigino’s Inc., a marker of brand frozen dinners, first selected a plant location, they
chose the small town of Jackson, Ohio, a central location in the eastern half of the US. From
this low-cost rural location, delivery trucks could easily access a # of nearby interstate
highways. Within 24 hours, trucks leaving Jackson could reach 60% of their consumers in the
USA and Canada.

Geography of Supply Chains

Supply chain is when parts are assembled into components that are then assembled together to
create larger finished products.

Automobiles are an example of heavy industry that requires a large supply chain network to support
the assembly of a final products.

As price and corporate profit requirements have increased over time, the size of supply chain
regions have expanded.

In 1903, when Henry Ford opened his River Rouge plant in Detroit, every part of the car was made
in one large factory complex.

The exception was tires which were highly specialized product made for Ford by Firestone Akron.

Fordist production (Fordism) relied on a single company owning all aspects of production, from
steel manufacture to advertising.

In the Post-Fordist era, car companies changed and became dependent on large networks of
regional supply chains that, in the case of Detroit-area assembly plants, stretch throughout the
Midestern USA, with some specialized electronic parts coming from overseas suppliers.

Outsourcing is common in auto parts, and car companies rely on several other companies to provide
vehicle components such as brakes, electronics, glass, and specialized plastics. Car companies must
still oversee the quality of supplier products.