CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

MANUFACTURING ACTIVITIES
Manufacturing refers to the turning of organic and inorganic raw or refined materials into new products by mechanical,
chemical or manual means. Manufacturing is a secondary activity where goods are usually produced in large quantities
with machines. Under this, raw materials or refined materials are turned into finished or semi finished products for
human satisfaction. For example, the carving of masks, the making of cement and use of palm oil for soap are all
manufacturing activities.
CLASSIFICATION OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
1. Based on the size and number of people employed, manufacturing industries are either small scale or large scale.
A. Small scale industries are mostly cottage industries which employ less than 30 people (workers). Few people are
employed who use their hands, or non powered tools and simple machines to work. They are widely distributed with
small capital and small output. They are mostly located in rural areas, especially, in the Less Developed Countries.
Examples include weaving, carpentry, sewing and pottery.
B. Large-scale industries employ at least thirty (30) or more workers. These are mostly concentrated in large industrial
estates in large towns and urban centers. They are both capital and labour intensive with high output. Examples include
iron and steel, oil refinery, aviation and space, aluminum smelting and ship building.

On the basis of gender of employees and nature of goods produced, there are light and heavy industries.

A. Light industries often employ a lot of female workers and produce relatively small and lightweight goods such as
pencils, books. Television sets, pans, cooking utensils, furniture and tooth paste.
B. Heavy industries on the other hand have more males as their workforce. They produce heavy and bulky goods as are
many of the raw materials they use. Examples of such industries include petrol chemicals, shipbuilding, automobile and
aluminium-smelting.

Based on materials used, industries are classified as primary, secondary and tertiary.
Primary industries depend on materials provided by nature. They are not directly involved in the manufacturing activity
but are involved in extracting goods provided by nature. They make goods provided by nature available to consumers.
They are thus, called extractive industries such as farming, fishing, mining and forestry.
Secondary industries are those that turn primary industrial products into goods of direct use to people. Examples include
construction, food processing, furniture making, textiles and clothing.
Tertiary industries include all activities excluding those of primary and secondary industry. These are also known as
service industries which include transport and communication, finance and administration, tourism and advertising.

From the various classification criteria, two main types of manufacturing industries can be identified namely processing
and fabricating.
Processing industries are engaged in turning raw materials into semi — finished goods such as the turning of minerals
into semi-finished goods (iron ore into iron), trees into timber.
Fabricating industries on the other hand are industries that put different components / materials or goods together to
form products. For example, the use of aluminum, iron, tyres and other materials to manufacture motor cars, the use of
wood, aluminum, etc to manufacture ships and the use of copper, aluminum, plastics, glass etc to manufacture television
sets.

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FACTORS INFLUENCING THE LOCATION OF INDUSTRIES
Industrial location is influenced by several factors, some of which include:
Proximity to and cost of raw materials: Prices of raw materials, cost of transporting them, weight and duration or
perishability of raw materials must be taken into consideration. Industries whose locations are mostly influenced by raw
materials include cement, soft drinks, etc.
Proximity to a source of power: Previously most manufacturing industries were located near source of coal and water
when they were the only sources of power. Nowadays, there are various sources of power including Hydro-electric Power
(H E P), thermal, gas and solar. These can be easily and cheaply transported at great distances by industries which rely
heavily on power such as iron and steel, aluminium smelting, automobile and aviation and space.
Supply of labour: Labour supply is very important in the location of industries since the size, gender, skills, cost and
stability of labour can affect the success or failure of that industry. Some industries require huge labour (labour intensive)
while some are highly automated and require little labour but may be highly skilled. Most primary industries are highly
labour intensive.
Access to good communication systems: These include road, rail, water or air for transporting raw materials and
distribution of finished products. Ports services and good telecommunication systems attract industries which help easy
dissemination of information.
Access to market and level of demand: Perishable goods such as foodstuffs or goods which are fairly low priced such as
newspapers and soft drinks are usually located within or very close to their market. High priced goods such as electronic
equipment and motor cars need not be close to their market. Market also depends on the population size, prices of
goods and purchasing power of the people.
Capital and management: Access to capital and how it is managed are very essential. Money is needed to start a
business. Factory building and machinery are all required. Sometimes it is easy to get money from banks or fixed capital
may be available on rental basis from governmental agencies or because some previous industries have closed down.
This is one of the reasons why most manufacturing industries and other businesses are found in large urban centres so as
to have easy access to financial services.
Government policies: Influence from government either direct or indirect. In some countries, the government decides
where and what types of industries will be established as in China and Cuba. In some countries, government indirectly
offers incentives such as tax relief and low land rentals.
Physical factors: These include land, water, climatic conditions, etc, can all impinge on where an industry should be
located.
Note: All these factors complement each other. This means that they work hand in hand yet, some of these factors have
greatest influence on some specific industries than others.

PROBLEMS FACING MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD

1. Inadequate capital due to lack of access to loans from banks.
2. Lack of collateral security to obtain loans from banks coupled with high interest rates are a problem to
industrial development.
3. Some industries require huge capital especially heavy and large scale ones hence, raising huge capital is
difficult.
4. Inadequate skilled personnel due to low level of skill training, high incidence of brain drain.
5. Inadequate supply of power and frequent power cuts.
6. Small size of market due to low incomes.
7. Competition on the market especially, importation of similar goods.
8. Labour disputes and strikes due to poor conditions of service.

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 9. Inadequate supply of raw materials due to low agricultural outputs thus crippling agro-based industries.
10. Other problems include unfavourable government policies, high tariffs on utilities and lack of access to land.

EFFORTS AT SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

Granting tax holidays and incentives.
Setting up institutions for training to produce skilled labour.
Development of cheaper sources of energy such as HEP, solar thermal and gas
Encouraging consumers to patronise home-made goods. This is being done through improvement in quality and
reduction in cost of production.
Improvement in infrastructure, for example, transport and communication.
+ Embarking on favourable investment programmes such as establishment of free trade zones as in Ghana.
Organising trade fairs and exhibitions.

CASE STUDY OF MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN THE WORLD

IRON AND STEEL
It is the use of iron ore and related materials for manufacturing iron and steel products. Some of the countries which are
engaged in large scale production of iron and steel products are listed in Table 19.
Iron and stccl industries in selectcd countrics
COUNTRY AREAS
USA Pittsburg, Clevcland, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore etc

Gennany The Ruhr Valley covering Bochum, Dusseldorf Essen etc

Japan Southern Honshu, Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo, Yawata,etc

UK South Wales, Sheffield, Lanark Shire

France Longway, Briey, Nancy, Metz

Russia Dombass, Magnitogorsk, Kuznesk, Krivol Rog, Urals-Karaganda

China Wuhan, Paotow, Anshaa

Australia Newcastle, Port Kembia
India Damodar Valley, Wamshadpur

One of the most popular and important iron and steel industrial areas in the world is the Ruhr Industrial Region in
Germany. Some of the cities found in this industrial region are Essen, Duisburg, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Bochum
among others (Figure 62).

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Fig 62: Main manufacturing centers of the Ruhr Industrial area in Germany

FACTORS THAT HAVE ACCOUNTED FOR IRON AND STEEL MANUFACTURING IN GERMANY
Accessibility to raw materials such as iron ore, limestone and dolomite. Some of the raw materials are
also imported from North Africa. Easy access to raw materials helps production to go on without
interruption.
There is availability of fuel and power. Various sources of power help run the machines and blast
furnace. The power sources include electricity, coal, which is close to the surface, thermal and oil.
Efficient transport and communication network, facilities and ports services. These include water ways
such as River Rhine and its tributaries Ruhr and Wupper including canals. There are roads, rails and air
transport facilities which facilitate easy importation and distribution of raw materials and finished
goods both internally and externally.
Existence of large and ready market due to large population size. Local and external demand for iron
and steel for the manufacture of industrial and agricultural machinery, locomotives, vehicles,
dynamites, turbines.
Availability of large and skilled labour such as engineers, technicians and other experts.
Land is also available since there arc land banks for industrial activities.

Benefits
1. The industry offers employment for people such as engineers, technicians and drivers.
2. As part of the social responsibility of these industrial concerns, they help provide
infrastructure and social amenities such as roads, hospitals, water, electricity, etc.
3. It provides foreign exchange to the country through the export of iron and steel to other
countries. The money is used to provide infrastructure and social amenities such as schools,
hospitals and roads.
4. It gives revenue to the country. This is through payment of taxes and royalties to the state.
5. It also leads to urbanisation and development of town and cities. This is because; it attracts a
lot of people to the area.
6. It provides industrial goods to other sectors of the economy such as agriculture and transport.
In other words, it leads to development of allied industries.

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Problems
The major problems faced by these industries are competition from other producing countries and
difficulty in raising huge capital since is capital intensive.

THE AVIATION AND SPACE INDUUSTRY

The aviation and space industry comprise the manufacture and sale of aeroplanes and all related
activities. Countries that manufacture airplanes are Britain, USA, France, Russia and Germany among
others.
Favourable factors
1. There is vast and empty land provided by some of the countries such as the Californian Desert
in USA. This facilitates the testing of aircrafts and the training of pilots. There is also enough
space for packing manufactured aircrafts.
2. There are favourable weather conditions for most part of the year due to cloudless and clear
sky. These encourage flights, space studies and exploration. Irregular occurrence of
atmospheric hazards such as tornadoes and hurricanes encourage space exploration.
3. There is large and ready market for aircrafts. There is both local and external demand for
aircrafts. The demand for faster means of transport in many countries and across the vast land
of the USA for the distribution of mails and dairy products require the use of aircrafts.
4. Availability of fuel and power. For example, presence of oil fields to supply fuel and power
such as petrol and aviation fuel for aircrafts. HEP and thermal are also used for powering their
machines.
5. There is favourable government policy for industrialisation in the USA. The government also
grants subsidies and tax holidays. The presence of capital to support the industry through
loans, grants and tax rebate help the firms to meet their financial obligations.
6. The high level of technology and availability of skilled labour have all contributed to the
development of the industry.

Benefits or importance
1. Provides employment for people such as pilots, engineers, technicians, and managers.
2. Leads to development of infrastructure and social amenities such as airports, roads.
3. It facilitates the distribution of documents and services such as mails, transfer of information
and traveling within the USA and abroad.
4. The government earns foreign exchange through export of aircrafts to other countries such as
Ghana, Nigeria and other developing countries.
5. It generates revenue for the state through taxes. The money is used to provide social
amenities such as hospitals and pipe borne water.
6. It attracts tourists and facilitates trade within and between countries.

Problems facing the aviation industry in general

1. Competition from other producing countries such as Britain, France and Russia.
2. It requires huge capital investment. It may sometimes be difficult to raise such huge capital
both fiscal cash and machinery.
3. Terrorists’ threats has slowed down the aviation industry since the World Trade Centre
bombing in 2001.
4. Competition with other means of transport such as road, rail and water. Due to the
advantages other means of transport such as road offers, there is a shift form air to road
transport especially, movement within a country.
5. Sometimes bad weather conditions such as thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes and poor
visibility hamper and may delay scheduled flights. For example, sometime in December, 2006,
a lot of flights both domestic and foreign had to be cancelled in Europe especially in Britain
due to bad weather conditions. "Thick fog has forced British Airways to cancel all domestic
flights from Heathrow and many European ones. About 350 flights out of Heathrow were
cancelled on the 21 of December, 2006 due to poor visibility from thick fog" (Daily Graphic,
22nd December, 2006 p. 2).

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THE PETROLEUM AND PETRO-CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
The petro-chemical industry is made up of the extraction, refining, distribution and use of oil and its
related products. The Arab world and Texas in USA are some of the most important oilfields in the
world. Other countries include Nigeria, Venezuela, Gabon (Figure 63)

Fig 63: The actual and potential oil producing areas in the world
Favourable factors
1. Proximity to the source of raw materials. There are vast oil fields in Texas, USA, the Niger
Delta area in Nigeria and Arab world such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. The existence
of oil refineries helps to produce petroleum products for petro-chemical industries.
2. There is regular supply of power. The sources include HEP and thermal. These help to power
the machines such as drilling for further processing.
3. Large and ready market for petro-chemical products. Petroleum products are demanded
locally and externally by linkage industries such as plastics, paints, drugs, soap, polythene and
automobile.
4. Presence of high skilled labour such as technicians, engineers, and the use of modern
methods o f production.
5. Easy and cheap means of transportation. These include rail, road, water and pipelines. These
help easy distribution of petroleum products within and outside these areas.
6. Favourable government policies such as tax concessions, subsidies and investment code.
These help to induce investment in the industry.
7. Presence of capital such as loans and other forms of credits.

8. Capital is made available by both local and foreign petroleum companies which are eager to
expand their businesses.

Importance or benefits
It provides employment to many people both directly and indirectly. Examples include drivers,
chemists, geologists, engineers and technicians.

1. It gives revenue to the nation through taxes and royalties.

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 2. The production of oil and gas leads to the development of infrastructure and social amenities
such as roads, schools, electricity, and other services as part of the social responsibilities of oil
companies.
3. Helps industrialisation since most of the products serve as raw materials for allied industries
such as plastics, fertilizer and paints.
4. It leads to training of human resources. Most of the workers acquire new skills on the job
which make them more experience and thus are able to work with less supervision.
5. It earns foreign exchange to nations in the form of export and sale of oil and its related
products to other countries.
6. Problems facing the industry
7. There is competition from other producing countries. This can lead to over production,
relatively low prices and low profit margins. This is one of the reasons why the Organisation of
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has been regulating production.
8. It is very capital intensive and may be a drain on the economy in the short run. It involves
both heavy machinery and fiscal cash which is needed to pay workers, defray high transport
cost and other administrative expenses. Due to inadequate capital, foreign oil companies are
dominant in the industry in the less developed countries.
9. Smuggling and corruption are also a problem to the industry.
10. Price fluctuations bring a lot of uncertainties to both the producers and consumers.
11. Sabotage from local people or indigenes. This is very common in Nigeria such as what
happened in December 2006. According to the BBC 22nd December, 2006, Nigerian militants
attacked a fuel pumping station on and killed three security personnel in the oil rich Niger
Delta region. "Series of raids on oil companies and installations has led to loss of about
500,000 barrels of oil a day" (http://news.bbc.co/hi/2/nigerdelta).
12. Prospects for continuous supply
13. The growing internal and external market for automobiles, plastics and explosives ensure
continuous supply of the products.
14. Demand for fertilizer has also helped the industry the industry to survive.
15. Chemicals for controlling pests and diseases that is, agrochemicals.
16. There are several untapped reserves such as those in Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and the USA which
will ensure regular supply of oil and gas to the world market.

Effects on the environmcnt

1. Pollution of water bodies through oil spill.
2. Air pollution leading to global warming due to burning of fossil fuels.
3. Smog and chest diseases may also result.
4. Careless disposal of petroleum products including plastics creates a lot of nuisance to the
environment.
5. Land degradation through creation of oil wells.

Solutions
1. Building of tall chimneys to direct gasses away from settlements.
2. Construction of cess-pits to contain poisonous wastes.
3. Recycling of non-biodegradable plastics.

THE AUTOMOBILE AND SHIP BUILDING INDUSTRIES IN JAPAN

Japan's shipbuilding and automobile (motor) industries are located in the Pacific Coastal Belt
extending for about 1000km from Tokyo to Nagasaki. Shipbuilding industry centres around Nagasaki,
Osaka, Kobe, Yokohama and Tokyo. Car industry is centred on Nagoya, Yokohama and Tokyo .

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Fig 64: The main manufacturing centers of Japan. Can you identify the main ship and automobile
manufacturing centers?

Favourable factors
• Availability of raw materials: Vast deposits of iron ore and easy access through importation from
other parts of the world make raw materials readily available.
Access to cheap power source: There is vast deposit of at Chikulo and Nagoya. Other sources of
power include IIEP, thermal and oil. These help propel their machines for continuous production.
Abundance of labour both skilled and unskilled: Due to huge population at Osaka, Tokyo and
Nagoya, workers are available to be employed in the factories. These include engineers, technicians
and labourers of all categories.
• There is also large market: Internally, the large market is due to huge population and externally,
due to economic nature of Japanese cars. Local demand for Japanese ships is due to the booming
fishing industry. Many countries specially, developing ones import most of their cars and ships from
Japan.
Naturally, the belt contains several sheltered natural harbours. These are backed by relatively flat
land which is essential to the import of bulky raw materials and distribution of cars and ships through
the ports of Tokyo, Nagoya and Yokohama to other parts of the world.
Reasons for rapid expansion of car production in Japan
According to Bunnet and Okunrotifa (1999), in 1956, Japan manufactured only 110,000 vehicles but
increased to over 5 million in 1976 and has been increasing tremendously in recent years. Today Japan
produces several millions of cars of different brands within a year. The reasons for this rapid
expansion include:

1. Increased home demand due to high incomes and standard of living. There has also been an
increase in external demand due to high quality of Japanese cars.

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 2. There is also a deliberate policy by the government to protect the Japanese car industry by
imposing tight restrictions on the importation of cars.
3. It is also due to problems facing other car manufacturing industries in other countries such as
Britain. Economic and social problems such as strikes helped Japan to penetrate foreign
markets due to fall in car production overseas.
4. Post war recovery, helped improve factory installations that is, government's policy of
fulfilling ambitious industrialization projects.
5. There is also low cost of production. Due to the high quality and cheapness of Japanese cars,
it is the preferred choice on the international market thus they have the ability to compete
with cars produced by other industrialised nations.

Benefits
1. It provides employment for technicians, drivers, engineers, etc. •
2. For foreign exchange through export of cars and ships to other countries especially, the
developing countries.
3. Government derives revenue through taxes and royalties.
4. It leads to infrastructural development such as ports and roads.
5. Both the shipbuilding and the car industries facilitate trade between Japan and other
countries.
6. There is transfer of technology through training and acquisition of skills.
7. Problems
8. Sometimes, the supply of raw materials is faced with difficulties. There is also high cost of
importing raw materials.
9. There is also increasing cost of importing fuel.
10. There is keen competition on the world market which sometimes reduces the market share of
the products.
11. It is capital intensive thus it needs huge capital which could be difficult to raise due to high
interest rates on loans.

Benefits
1. It provides employment for technicians, drivers, engineers, ctc•
2. For foreign exchange through export of cars and ships to other countries especially, the
developing countries.
3. Government derives revenue through taxes and royalties.
4. It leads to infrastructural development such as ports and roads.
5. Both the shipbuilding and the car industries facilitate trade between Japan and other
countries.
6. There is transfer of technology through training and acquisition of skills.
7. Problems
8. Sometimes, the supply of raw materials is faced with difficulties. There is also high cost of
importing raw materials.
9. There is also increasing cost of importing fuel.
10. There is keen competition on the world market which sometimes reduces the market share of
the products.
11. It is capital intensive thus it needs huge capital which could be difficult to raise due to high
interest rates on loans.

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