Higher

Industry

Industrial Location

• Before building a factory or locating an industry, the manufacturer should consider the major elements in the system.

• A decision must then be made as to which site is likely to provide the best location.

Market

PowerSupply

TransportLinks

GovtPolicies

Labour

Raw Materials

Capital

Site/Land

Industry

Factors affecting Industrial Location

Physical Factors

• Raw materials• Natural Routes• Power/Energy

• Site and Land• Environment

Human Factors

• Labour• Market• Capital• Transport• Communications• Government

Policy

19th Century Heavy Industry

• Near raw materials – iron ore, limestone. They are heavy, so it costs too much to transport them.

• Near a power supply – water then coal.

• Near cheap transport – canals then railways.

• Flat land – heavy industries are often very large and need a large area of land to build on.

• Workforce – Large workforce had to live close by.

Case Study – South Wales

Growth of Industry in South Wales

Raw Materials

• Readily available coking coal and black band iron ore together in horizontal seams outcropping on steep valley sides of U shaped valleys – easily accessible.

• The two south eastern counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire contained abundant seams of coal and iron ore in their valleys

• Close proximity to limestone in Brecon Beacons which meant limestone was quarried nearby.

Growth of Industry in South Wales

Workforce

•Locals were skilled in iron making historically.

•Migration of people into South Wales was going on throughout the period 1851-1911. Some 366,000 peoplemoved into the area during this period – this providedan additional workforce.

•People migrated from Ireland, the English Midlands and Scotland.

Growth of Industry in South Wales

Transport

•Initially by gravity along U-shaped valley floors to ports.

•Canals network, followed by rail then roads.Allowed Products to be transported to port relatively cheaply– iron ore is heavy and expensive to transport over long distances.

•Nearby ports such as Cardiff, Swansea, Newport meant easy export of iron and coal and easy import of other raw materials.

•The estuaries of the Tyne, Wear and Tees allowed ships to be launched.

Growth of Industry in South Wales

Power

•Fast flowing rivers in the valleys provided the initial source of power.

•Later, coke from the coal of the South Wales coalfieldwas used as the main source of power.

Site

•Flat valley floors ideal for building on.

Growth of Industry in South Wales

Market

•Access to a large overseas market from ports e.g. Penarth

•South Wales is a trade corridor for the Americas due to its western location – this was advantageous in terms of trade.

•Coastal location allowed trade with the British Empire.

Past Paper QuestionStudy the diagram.

With reference to one named industrial concentration inthe European Union you have studied, explain how suchfactors originally attracted to your chosen area.

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Raw materials Transport

Energy Labour supply

Site and availability Market of land

Decline of industry in South Wales

The case study we looked at in class was Clydebank

but a number of these points Can also be used

Background:

In 1860 there were over 30 iron works in the valleys of South Wales – they provided employment for the local villages which became almost solely dependent on the newindustries.

During the next 40 years improvements in the smelting process, meant that the production of iron was replaced by steel manufacture, which was more profitable.

Reasons for decline:

•Improvements in the smelting process – production of ironwas replaced by steel manufacture, which was more profitable.

•1990’s only 2 steelworks left in South Wales.

•Raw materials were exhausted locally – deep mining is far more expensive.

•Iron ore in South Wales ran out and had to be imported from abroad (which put up the price of steel they made)

•The valley floors were too cramped for expansion.

Reasons for decline ctd:

•Overseas market was lost to cheaper countries like Japanand South Korea, as they had more advanced technologydue to investment, which the British government had notput in.

•The collapse of the British Empire meant that a previously secure market was lost.

•The global market for steel became increasingly competitive which drove the price down.

Impact of decline:

•High unemployment: people lost their jobs in the iron and steel industry and other industries which relied on ironand steel e.g. coal mining. At its peak nearly 300,000miners were employed in the coal industry. By the 1980sthat had shrunk to 22,000, and by the early 1990s to below 1,000.

•Decline in local services and environment because fewerpeople were paying Council Tax so local councils had lessmoney to spend.

•Social problems such as poverty and crime in the regionincreased.

Impact of decline ctd:

•Outside companies were unwilling to invest in new industries in what they thought was a run down area.Welsh Development Agency tries to attract work today but the valleys offer few attractions as as location formodern industries.

•Migration: people moved away to find work, especiallyyounger males.

•Overall, the decline caused family and community upheaval and change to many parts of the region.

•Cycle of economic decline sets in.

•Polluted landscape left as a reminder of the past.

Regeneration of Industry

Recent Changes in the area

•Geographical inertia has meant that some steel making and non-ferrous smelting remains at Port Talbot – one of the U.K.s four remaining steel works.

•Tin plate using locally produced steel was manufactured at Trostre.

Regeneration - Government Intervention

•The area was designated an ‘assisted area’ to help deal with the unemployment.

•Milford Haven and Swansea were designated ‘Enterprise zones’ due to their exceptionally high unemployment.

•Incentives were offered which led to:          •Ford locating 2 plants.• Many Japanese firm located there leading the Rhondda valley to be nicknamed the ‘Honda valley’.•They only employ small numbers however due to mechanisation.

Government Intervention ctd.

•The decentralisation of local government meant government offices were relocated outside of London.

o  The DVLA moved to Swansea.o  The Royal Mint moved to Cardiff.

•Transport links were improved to attract new industries.

o  The M4 was upgraded due to EU funding.o   Inter City rail links were improved and Cardiff airport was expanded.

Government Intervention ctd.

•Tourism was promoted in the Pembrokeshire coast area and became a National Park.

•Slag heaps were landscaped to make them blend in with surrounding areas.

•The Welsh Industrial museum was refurbished to market the mining and steel making past.

•The Maritime Museum in Cardiff’s former dockland was refurbished.

These all helped to provide employment in the area.

New Industry in South Wales

Sony: A transnational Corporation located in South Wales

Sony has invested in factories making TV sets in Bridgend, South Wales since the 1970s. It has done so because SouthWales has certain advantages over other places in the UKand Europe.

Advantages for Sony

•Land in South Wales is cheap compared to some other parts of the UK.

•Wages are lower than in some other parts of the UK.

•The workforce is relatively well-educated compared withLEDCs.

•There are good transport links between South Wales andthe rest of the UK, especially the M4 and M5 motorways-this allows easy transport of components to the factoryand to large cities like London and Birmingham.

•Because South Wales is in the EU it means it is cheaper for Sony to sell TV sets in the EU.

•The UK government offered grants and subsidies to Sony to build a factory in South Wales to help reduce unemployment.

•Bridgend is close to two cities with universities (Cardiff and Swansea) which can provide research and high-tech education.

Advantages for Sony ctd.