Outline the main characteristics of assembly industries, and for a consumer industry of your choice, analyse the locational and production trends of recent years

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a) Outline the main characteristics of assembly industries

     An assembly industry is one that uses a group of machine parts that fit together to form a self-contained unit. For example car manufacturing is primarily concerned with the assembly of manufactured items to produce finished goods. It can be thought of as a system with interlinked inputs, outputs and processes. Assembly industries tend to be located closer to the market, because the distribution costs are higher than the collection costs, because the final product will have gained in size, weight and value compared to the size and value of each assembly item.

Assembly industries are characterised by the complexity of its linkages. Firms and plants have links with thousands of component manufacturers, and with marketing, advertising and retailing industries. There are also often inter-plant linkages, with, for example in the car industry, engines being produced at one plant and gearboxes at another, with subsequent exchanges during the manufacturing process. Increasingly there are also inter-firm linkages, with manufacturers collaborating to share common components such as finished products, for instance, the Rover 400 and 600 series share many common components with certain Honda cars, and the VW and Ford 'people carrier' vehicles have identical body shells.

b) For a consumer industry of your choice, analyse the locational and production trends of recent years

The automobile industry is a consumer industry as it produces automobiles and other gasoline-powered vehicles for consumer use. The automobile industry is one of the most important industries in the world, affecting not only the economy but also the cultures of the world. The auto industry has also reduced the overall cost of transportation by using methods such as mass production, mass marketing, and globalisation of production. Car manufacturing in recent years reflects many of the changing factors in global economy.

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     In the beginnings of the automobile industry, low distribution costs were the pull factor of a company to an area. For example, in 1911, Ford located its first assembly plant outside the USA, choosing to serve the European market from Manchester.

As well as giving incentives to UK companies to relocate, great efforts were also made to attract foreign companies to whom a variety of financial incentives were offered. This has been in competition with the governments of other countries offering similar incentives. Toyota in Burnaston, Derby, which was built in the 90's. Toyota aimed to make ...

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