SECONDARY ACTIVITIES

Secondary activities add value to natural resources by transforming raw materials into valuable products. Cotton in the boll has limited use but after it is transformed into yarn, becomes more valuable. Similarly iron transformed to steel. Secondary activities, therefore, are concerned with manufacturing, processing and construction (infrastructure) industries.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing involves a full array of production from handicrafts to moulding iron and steel and stamping out plastic toys to assembling delicate computer components or space vehicles. In each of these processes, the common characteristics are the application of power, mass production of identical products and specialised labour in factory settings for the production of standardized commodities.

1. Modern Large Scale Industries

Specialization of skills or methods of production: Costs are high and production of large quantities.
Mechanization: Use of gadgets, automation is the advanced stage of mechanisation.
Technical Innovation: Technical innovations through R&D, eliminating waste and inefficiency, and combat pollution.
Organisational Structure and Stratification: Modern manufacturing is characterised by complex machine technology, specialisation and division of labour, vast capital, large organisations and executive bureaucracy.
Uneven Geographic Distribution: Major concentrations of modern manufacturing have flourished in a few number of places. These cover less than 10 percent of the world’s land area. These nations have become the centres of economic and political power.

2. Factors influencing industrial location

Industries maximise profits by reducing costs. Therefore, industries should be located at points where the production costs are minimum. Some of the factors influencing industrial locations are as under:

(i). Access to Market: ‘Market’ means people who have a demand for these goods and also have the purchasing power (ability to purchase) to be able to purchase from the sellers at a place.
(ii). Access to Raw materials: Industries based on cheap, bulky and weight-losing material (ores) are located close to the sources of raw material such as steel, sugar, and cement industries. Agro-processing and dairy products are processed close to the sources of farm produce or milk supply respectively.
(iii). Access to Labour supply : Some types of manufacturing still require skilled labour. Increasing mechanisation, automation and flexibility of industrial processes have reduced the dependence of industry upon the labours.
(iv). Access to Sources of Energy : Industries which use more power are located close to the source of the energy supply such as the aluminium industry. Earlier coal was the main source of energy, today hydroelectricity and petroleum are also important sources of energy for many industries.
(v). Access to Transportation and Communication facilities: Speedy and efficient transport facilities to carry raw materials to the factory and to move finished goods to the market are essential for the development of industries. Improvements in transportation led to integrated economic development and regional specialisation of manufacturing. Communication is also an important need for industries for the exchange and management of information. Western Europe and eastern North America have a highly developed transport system.
(vi). Government Policy : Governments adopt ‘regional policies’ to promote ‘balanced’ economic development.
(vii). Access to Agglomeration Economies/Links between Industries: Many industries benefit from nearness to a leader-industry and other industries. These benefits are termed as agglomeration economies. Savings are derived from the linkages which exist between different industries
Foot Loose Industries:

(i). Can be located in a wide variety of places.
(ii). They are not dependent on any specific raw material, weight losing or otherwise.
(iii). They largely depend on component parts which can be obtained anywhere.
(iv). They produce in small quantity and also employ a small labour force.
(v). These are generally not polluting industries.
(vi). The important factor in their location is accessibility by road network.

3. Classification of Manufacturing Industries

(i). Industries based on Size : The amount of capital invested, number of workers employed and volume of production determine the size of industry. Accordingly, industries may be classified into household or cottage, small-scale and large-scale.

a). Household Industries or Cottage Manufacturing

It is the smallest manufacturing unit.
Use local raw materials and simple tools to produce everyday goods in their homes with the help of their family members or part- time labour.
Finished products may be for consumption in the same household or, for sale in local (village) markets, or, for barter.
Capital and transportation do not wield much influence as this type of manufacturing has low commercial significance and most of the tools are devised locally.

b). Small Scale Manufacturing

Distinguished from household industries by its production techniques and place of manufacture (a workshop outside the home/cottage of the producer).
This type of manufacturing uses local raw material, simple power-driven machines and semi-skilled labour.
It provides employment and raises local purchasing power. Therefore, countries like India, China, Indonesia and Brazil, etc. have developed labour-intensive small scale manufacturing in order to provide employment to their population.

c). Large Scale Manufacturing

Large scale manufacturing involves a large market, various raw materials, enormous energy, specialized workers, advanced technology, assembly-line mass production and large capital.
On the basis of the system of large scale manufacturing, the world’s major industrial regions may be grouped under two broad types, namely

Traditional large-scale industrial regions which are thickly clustered in a few more developed countries.
High-technology large scale industrial regions which have diffused to less developed countries.

(ii). Industries Based on Inputs /Raw Materials

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 the 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.

(iii). 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 produce what is consumed by consumers directly such as tea, biscuits, toiletries, etc.

(iv). 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 the 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 the private and government sector are called joint sector industries.

Traditional Large-scale industrial Regions

These are based on heavy industry, often located near coal-fields and engaged in metal smelting, heavy engineering, chemical manufacture or textile production.

These industries are now known as smokestack industries. Traditional industrial regions can be recognised by:

- High proportion of employment in the manufacturing industry.
- High-density housing, often of inferior type, and poor services. Unattractive environments, for example, pollution, waste heaps, and so on.
- Problems of unemployment, emigration and derelict land areas caused by closure of factories because of a worldwide fall in demand.

1. The Ruhr Coal-field, Germany

This has been one of the major industrial regions of Europe for a long time.
Coal and iron and steel formed the basis of the economy, but as the demand for coal declined, the industry started shrinking. The Ruhr region is responsible for 80 percent of Germany’s total steel production.
Now a New Ruhr landscape has emerged that focuses on other products like Opel car assembly plant, new chemical plants, universities and out of town shopping centres.

2. Concept of High Technology Industry

High technology, or simply high-tech, is the latest generation of manufacturing activities. It is best understood as the application of intensive research and development (R and D) efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering character.
Professional (white collar) workers make up a large share of the total workforce. These highly skilled specialists greatly outnumber the actual production (blue collar) workers. Robotics on the assembly line, computer-aided design (CAD) and manufacturing, electronic controls of smelting and refining processes, and the constant development of new chemical and pharmaceutical products are notable examples of a high-tech industry.
Neatly spaced, low, modern, dispersed, office-plant-lab buildings rather than massive assembly structures, factories and storage areas mark the high-tech industrial landscape.
High-tech industries which are regionally concentrated, self-sustained and highly specialised are called Technopolis. The Silicon Valley near San Francisco and Silicon Forest near Seattle are examples of Technopolis.

3. Iron And Steel Industry

The iron and steel industry forms the base of all other industries and, therefore, it is called a basic industry.
It may also be called a heavy industry because it uses large quantities of bulky raw materials and its products are also heavy.
Iron is extracted from iron ore by smelting in a blast furnace with carbon (coke) and limestone. The molten iron is cooled and moulded to form pig iron which is used for converting into steel by adding strengthening materials like manganese.
The large integrated steel industry is traditionally located close to the sources of raw materials – iron ore, coal, manganese and limestone – or at places where these could be easily brought, e.g. near ports.
But in mini steel mills access to markets is more important than inputs. These are less expensive to build and operate and can be located near markets because of the abundance of scrap metal, which is the main input.
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.).

4. 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.
Power loom : 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, U.S.A, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Egypt produce more than half of the world raw cotton.
The U.K, NW European countries and Japan also produce cotton textile made from imported yarn. Europe alone accounts for nearly half of the world‘s cotton imports.
The industry has to face very stiff competition with synthetic fibres hence it has now shown a declining trend in many countries.

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Monday, 20 December 2021

Secondary Activities