How can industrial activity be classified?

There are many different types of industry. We can classify industry into four main categories:

These industries extract raw materials directly from the earth or sea.

These industries process and

manufacture products from raw materials.

These industries provide a service.

These industries incorporate a high degree of research and technology in their processes and employ highly qualified people. 

Biotechnology and computer programming are examples of quaternary industries.   

The balance of jobs between the three categories in a particular area or country is called the employment structure.

A major reason for some changes in employment structure is mechanization – the use of machines to do jobs rather than people.

These can be physical, human and economic inputs.

These are the activities that are involved.

These are the finished products and any waste.

High-technology industry involves a highly-skilled workforce and its products require a high proportion of research and development.

High-technology industry is relatively footloose since access to raw materials is not very important. The ‘raw materials’ that are required are usually lightweight electronic components.

Bangalore has been called the Silicon Valley of India. Over 160,000 people are currently employed in the technology sector and this number is expected to exceed 200,000 in 2005, which will rival Silicon Valley.

Electronics City in Bangalore is India’s first science park. It is home to  about 100 companies including Siemens, Hewlett Packard and Motorola. Infoys was the first Indian firm to float on the US Stock Exchange.

A science park is a planned industrial complex which  contains quaternary companies and is linked with universities.

A business park is very similar to a science park it can also contain manufacturing companies but they are not linked with a university. They have high-tech industries, hypermarkets and leisure facilities. They are also landscaped.

Heavy manufacturing is a secondary industry that makes large and heavy goods using bulky raw materials such as coal.

After 1860, steel production began to replace iron production.  Steel was less brittle than iron.

In an integrated steelworks, all stages of manufacture take place on one site. The coastal location of Port Talbot provided large areas of flat land for these steelworks.

Deindustrialization is the decline of the manufacturing industry and the growth of the tertiary and quaternary sectors.

The decline of the iron and steel industry in South Wales has continued – there is only one remaining steelworks in South Wales, located at Port Talbot. The Llanwern steelworks closed in 2001 causing 1340 jobs to be lost. 

Globalisation means that industries now compete on a global scale and many countries are producing steel at competitive prices. Sometimes it is cheaper for companies to look abroad for steel and other manufactured goods.

Most LEDC cities have grown rapidly and the number of people is often far greater than the jobs that are available.

People therefore have to find work for themselves. This is called the informal sector of employment.

The formal sector is controlled by the government and large companies.

A transnational company has factories and offices in several countries. Therefore it is a global company in that it operates across national boundaries.

The headquarters of a transnational company is usually in an MEDC with branch factories worldwide.

Transnational companies have the power to choose where to locate their factories. They are attracted to LEDCs due to the large pool of labour, low wages and taxes and fewer restrictions.