Industrial Location

Industrial Location

Anang P.Setiawan

Introduction
•Economic activities are not evenly spread in most countries. (Some areas have high concentrations of industry and some areas have few industries.
•Different industries have specific needs or factors which influence their location.

Factors that influence the location
•Flat Land : Some industries, like car factories need large areas of flat land.
•Raw materials : Manufacturing industries like steelmaking rely on bulky raw materials, e.g. Coal and limestone, which are expensive to transport.
•Energy : In the past it was important, but with avaibility of electricity makes this less important.
•Labour Force : Industries that rely on a large workforce need close to cities where many of their employees andd customers live. E.g. Clothing factories.
•Markets : Manufacturers do not like to be far from their market as this increases costs. E.g SONY make televisions in UK wants to be near to its European markets.
•Transport Link : Factories need to be close to good transport link to ensure that the raw materials and finished products are moved with ease. Many prefer to locate near to motorway junctions.

What can government do?
•When regions have lost industris or unemployement is high, government needs to attract new investment.
•EU has a regional policy to promote new development in its less wealthy regions. Helps may come in the form of :
-Giving businesses rent-free periods, grants and loans.
-Infrastructure : Building new roads, water supplies and electricity.
-Retraining workers-to provide labour with relevant skills.
-Providing sites for business parks and new start-ups.

New Jobs in new Places
•Some secondary activities can be grouped according to their location.
•Heavy industries rely on bulky raw materials need close to them to reduce transport costs.
•Light/footlose industries can locate almost everywhere.
•Highly specialized quaternary activities, e.g.research take place in science parks.
•The widespread use of computers, modems and internet – allow more people to work from home in the future or in small communities known as tele-cottage. E.g. In rural areas of South Wales.
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