Geography Class 12 Notes Chapter 6 Secondary Activities
Manufacturing
The literally meaning of manufacturing is to make by hand, but in the present context, the manufacturing means the conversion of raw material into more useful and valuable fabricated articles with the help of machines.
Manufacturing Industries
These are geographically located manufacturing units that transform raw materials into finished goods of higher value for sale in local or distant markets. The term industry is comprehensive and can also be used in many secondary activities which are not carried on in factories like entertainment industry, tourism industry, etc.
The manufacturing industries are characterised by the following:
- Specialisation of Skills In industries, one task is done repeatedly that gives specialisation of doing that task. This involves high cost of manufacturing. On the other hand, mass production involves production of large quantity of standardised parts by each worker performing only one task repeatedly.
- Mechanisation The industries use automated processes or machines which does the major production. Human thinking is not required in mechanisation.
- Technological Innovation Latest technology is used and constant innovation is done to eliminate waste, quality control, combat pollution and bring efficiency.
- Organisational Structure and Stratification Modern manufacturing is characterised by complex machine technology, extreme specialisation, division of labour, vast capital, large organisations and executive bureaucracy.
- Uneven Geographic Distribution The industries are concentrated in regions that are rich in mineral and other resources. These areas cover less than 10% of the world’s land area. These regions have become the major centres of economic and political power.
Location of industry
The location of industry at a particular place is governed by a large number of geographical and non-geographical factors. Industries maximise profits by reducing costs. Thus, industries should be located at points where the production costs are minimum. Following factors influence the location of industry at particular places:
- Access to Market Areas that provide large markets for finished industrial goods like developed areas of Europe, America, Japan, Australia, South Asia have huge concentration of industries.
- Access to Sources of Energy Coal, petroleum and hydroelectricity are main sources of energy. Industries using more power are located close to these sources.
- Access to Raw Material Industries based on cheap, bulky and weight-losing materials (ores) like steel, sugar are based close to sources of raw materials. Similarly, processing of dairy products, perishable foods and agro based are done near the sources of raw materials.
- Access to Labour Supply Industries are located where there is availability of skilled labour. Some types of manufacturing still require skilled labour.
- Acccess to Source of Energy Industries which use more power are located nearer to the source of energy supply such as iron and steel industries. Energy is most essential to run machines in industries. The main power resources are coal, petroleum, hydroelectricity, natural gas and nuclear energy.
- Access to Transportation and Communication Facilities Industries are located in places that have efficient transportation facilities and communication services for the exchange and management of information.
- Access to Agglomeration Economies Agglomeration economies refer to the benefits derived from the linkages that exist between different industries. The small industries or ancillary units like to operate near leader industries to benefit from nearness to big or basic industries.
- Government Policy For the balanced economic development, governments promote various regions by setting up industries in a particular link between industrial areas.
Classification of Manufacturing Industries
Industries are classified on the basis of their size, inputs/ raw materials, output/ products and ownership.
Industries Based on Size
Based on amount of capital invested, a number of workers employed and volume of production, industries are classified into the following:
Household Industries or Cottage Manufacturing It is the smallest manufacturing unit. Artisans use local raw materials, simple tools and production is done with the help of family members. Production is done for local consumption and local markets. There is not much capital needed, e.g. mats, baskets, pottery, jewellery, artefacts and crafts.
Small Scale Manufacturing These type of industries employ semi-skilled labour, operate by power driven machines, use local raw materials and manufacture products in workshops. It provides employment and raises local purchasing power. India, China, Indonesia and Brazil have developed labour intensive small scale manufacturing units.
Large Scale Manufacturing Here mass production takes place, involves large market, many raw materials, huge energy requirements, specialised workers, advanced technology and large capital. Large scale manufacturing industries are divided into two parts i.e. Traditional large scale industrial regions and Higlr technology large scale industrial regions.
Industries Based on Inputs/Raw Materials
On the basis of raw materials used, industries are classified as follow:
- Agro based Industry This involves processing of raw materials from the fields and farms into finished products like sugar, fruit juices, beverages, oils and textiles (cotton, jute, silk), rubber, etc.
- Food Processing This is part of agro based industry and includes processes like canning, producing cream, fruit processing, confectionery, drying, fermenting and pickling.
- Agri Business This is commercial farming on an industrial scale. The farms are mechanised, very large and highly structured, like tea plantation and tea factories near the plantations.
- Mineral based Industry These are industries that use minerals as raw materials such as ferrous like iron and steel and non-ferrous like aluminium, copper, etc. Mineral based non-metallic industries are of cement and pottery.
- Chemical based Industry These industries use natural chemical minerals like salts, sulphur, potash, mineral oil in petrochemical industry and chemicals obtained from wood and coal. Synthetic fiber and plastics are other examples of chemical based industry.
- Forest based Industry Industries that use forest products such as timber, wood, bamboo, grass, lac, etc come under forest based industry.
- Animal based Industry Industries that use animal products such as leather, woollen textiles, ivory are grouped under animal based industry.
Industries based on Output/ Product
This refers to industries based on the finished products or output. These are:
- Basic Industries These are the industries that produce raw material to be used in other industries such as iron and steel.
- Consumer Goods Industries These are the industries which produces what is consumed by consumers directly such as tea, biscuits, toiletries, etc.
Industries based on Ownership
Based on the ownership, the industries are grouped as:
- Public Sector Industry This refers to industries that are owned and managed by government. In India, it is called public sector undertakings. Socialist economies have all state owned industries.
- Private Sector Industry This refers to industries that are owned by private individuals and also managed by them. Capitalist economies have mostly private owned industries.
- Joint Sector Industry Industries that are jointly owned and managed by joint stock companies or established by private and government sector are called joint sector industries.
Foot Loose Industries
These industries do not depend on any specific raw material so they can be located at any place. They largely depend on component parts, employ small labour force and produce in small quantity.
Traditional Large Scale Industrial Regions
Traditional large scale industries are mostly heavy industries located near coal fields and involved in metal smelting, heavy engineering, chemical manufacturing or textile production. Their features are high employment, high density of housing but poor services, unattractive environment, pollution and waste heaps. Due to these problems, many industries are closed leading to unemployment, emigration and wastelands.
The Ruhr Coal Field, Germany
- This area was a major industrial region due to coal and iron-ore deposits. But the industry started shrinking as demand of coal declined, iron-ore exhausted, industrial waste and pollution increased.
- Now a New Ruhr landscape has emerged that focusses on other products like Opel car assembly plant, new chemical plants, universities and out of town shopping centres.
High Technology Industry
- Also called high-tech industry, it is highly technical and incorporates advanced scientific and engineering research and development strategy.
- The workforce are highly skilled specialists, professionals (known as white collar) who outnumber the production labour (blue collar).
- Robotics, computer aided design and manufacturing, electronics, new chemicals and pharmaceuticals are examples of these industries.
Iron and Steel Industry
- It is known as basic industry as it provides raw materials or base to other industries. It is also called heavy industry due to its bulky raw material and heavy finished products.
- These industries are located near the source of raw materials i.e. iron ore, coal, manganese and limestone or near ports where it could be early brought.
Distribution
This industry is spread in developed and developing countries such as America, UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Ukraine, Japan, China and India (Jamshedpur, Durgapur, Raurkela, etc.)
Cotton Textile Industry
This industry has three sub-sectors:
- Handloom This is labour intensive, employs semi-skilled workers, requires small capital and involves processes like spinning, weaving and finishing of the fabrics.
- Powerloom This is less labour intensive, uses of machines and production is more.
- Mill Sector This is highly capital intensive, requires good quality raw cotton and produces in bulk.
India, China, USA, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Egypt produce more than half of world’s raw cotton. Now the cotton textile industry is shifting to less developed countries due to labour cost.
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