Manufacturing is the industry that makes automobiles, books, clothing, furniture, paper, pencils, and thousands of other products. The word manufacture comes from the Latin words manus (hand) and facere (to make). Today, manufacturing means the making of articles by machinery as well as by hand.
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Manufacturing plants have great importance to the welfare of their communities. When a factory hires 100 workers, for example, it also creates about 175 jobs outside the factory. These include jobs for people in restaurants, stores, and other businesses that provide the factory employees with goods and services.
Until the early 1900’s, the greatest manufacturing centers were in western Europe. The United States became the leading manufacturing nation during World War I (1914-1918). Since then, the United States has ranked as the one of greatest producers of manufactured goods.
Manufacturing is an important industry in the United States and Canada. It earns about one-tenth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of both the United States and Canada. GDP is the value of all the goods and services produced in a country within a given period. In the two nations, manufacturing employs about 15 million workers.
Kinds of manufacturing
Manufactured items may be divided into heavy or light, and durable or nondurable goods. A durable product lasts for a long time. A nondurable product is used up quickly. A locomotive is a heavy durable product. A loaf of bread is a light nondurable item.
All manufactured products are either consumer goods or producer goods. Retail stores, such as groceries or drugstores, sell consumer goods to millions of buyers. These products include radios, rugs, food, and thousands of other items. Producer goods are products used to make other products. They include springs, bearings, printing presses, and many other items.
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Manufacturing around the world
Manufacturing industries are usually located in regions that have abundant natural resources, good transportation, mild climates, and large populations. North America, Europe, and Asia rank as leaders in all these categories. Together they produce more than 90 percent of the world’s manufactured goods.
In the United States,
manufacturing companies operate about 300,000 factories. These companies include individually owned firms, partnerships, and corporations. Much of the money invested in manufacturing is for the plant and equipment. The rest is represented by the inventory of materials waiting to be worked on or sold. Manufacturing firms employ about 13 million people and account for about $11 of every $100 earned in the nation.
Most big U.S. manufacturers are near large cities. The nation’s major manufacturing regions include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas-Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco-Oakland, San Jose, and Seattle. See United States (Manufacturing).
In Canada.
Canada ranks among the leading manufacturing countries. Its major manufacturing industries produce food products and transportation equipment. Other important industries make chemicals, fabricated metal products, machinery, primary metals, and wood products. Ontario produces about two-fifths of Canada’s manufactured goods. Quebec produces about a fourth. Canada’s factories employ about 1 3/4 million people. They produce goods with a value added by manufacture of about $250 billion a year in United States dollars. This figure represents the value created in products by industries, not counting such costs as materials, supplies, and fuel. See Canada (Manufacturing).
In Europe.
Europe ranks after China as the main manufacturing region in the world. The major manufacturing nations of Western Europe include France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Major manufacturing nations of Eastern Europe include Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. See Europe (Manufacturing).
In Asia,
large-scale manufacturing is mostly centered in China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and Taiwan. Most other countries produce only a few goods that workers make by hand. China is the world’s largest manufacturer. Japan is also a major manufacturer, and it makes more products than any Western European country. Asia leads the world in silk production. See Asia (Industry).
In Africa,
manufacturing plays a small role in the economy. Leading manufacturing countries include Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa. Africa has poor transportation and includes vast areas with sparse populations. The continent has about a third of the world’s potential water power. But most of the sites for power plants are in regions where it would be hard to develop industries. Less than 1 percent of Africa’s available water power is used. See Africa (Manufacturing).
In Latin America,
manufacturing has gradually increased in importance. The region’s leading manufacturing countries include Brazil and Mexico, which make such products as automobiles, chemicals, and steel. Many nations produce cement, processed foods, and textiles. A number of countries, including Mexico and Venezuela, manufacture petroleum products.
The main steps in manufacturing
Design and engineering.
Manufacturers must design products that will be easy and safe to use, without being too expensive to make and ship. Makers of consumer goods often change the styles of their products. The new designs attract the public’s interest and frequently include improvements on the old styles.
After the basic product design has been determined, engineers with different skills work to develop a process plan, a set of instructions for making the product. They often build and test a prototype (sample of the product) before selling the item.
Purchasing.
The raw materials and purchased parts used in making the finished product must be bought and delivered to the plant. Raw materials come from farms, forests, fisheries, mines, and quarries. Some manufacturers, such as those that make food products, buy most of their raw materials from nearby areas. Others may require raw materials that must be shipped from the other side of the world. For example, Ohio manufacturers make the most tires in the world. But the rubber comes from Asia. Some manufacturers purchase parts that are already made. For example, automobile manufacturers buy finished tires and use them to build their own finished product—automobiles.
Making products
involves one or more of three processes. These processes are (1) synthetic, (2) analytic, and (3) conditioning.
Manufacturers who use the synthetic process mix ingredients or assemble ready-made parts. A paint manufacturer mixes chemicals to produce paint, and an automobile company assembles parts to make a car.
In the analytic process, the manufacturer breaks down a raw material. Oil refineries break crude oil down into gasoline, oil, and other parts. A hog goes through an analytic process at a packing house and comes out as ham, bacon, and other pork products.
The conditioning process changes the form of raw materials. Ore from mines becomes ingots (bricks) or sheets of metal, which then may be formed into usable parts. Rocks from quarries are made into gravel.
Besides making the product, a manufacturer must have a system of quality control. Specially trained workers check the raw materials and examine the finished products. They make sure that the products meet company standards. Careful production control is also essential. Experts make sure that the right materials in the right amounts go to the proper place at the proper time.
Distribution and sales
account for a large part of the prices we pay for products. For example, 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of paint costs much more than the chemicals and labor needed to manufacture it. The final price of a product includes the costs of advertising, packaging, shipping, storage, commissions to salespeople, office work, and taxes. In addition to these costs, the price must give a fair profit to the manufacturer, the wholesalers, and the retailers.
How science helps manufacturing
Engineers and scientists involved in industrial research continually work to develop new materials and processes that will benefit manufacturing. Such research often leads to lower manufacturing and product costs. Researchers also find new uses for old products and materials. Research begun in the early 1800’s has yielded hundreds of kinds of plastics that manufacturers have used to replace less sturdy, less attractive, and more expensive materials (see Plastics). Until automobile companies began using an improved assembly-line method of manufacturing in the early 1900’s, only the wealthiest families could afford automobiles (see Assembly line). Widespread industrial research began after World War I (1914-1918), when research became more and more important as a part of manufacturing.
Manufacturing often benefits from scientific advancements that are not the result of industrial research. For example, the Global Positioning System (GPS), a satellite network, enables manufacturers to track the movement of trucks carrying incoming and outgoing orders.
Computerization has improved efficiency in many aspects of manufacturing production and management. Most manufacturing plants maintain inventories of thousands of types of parts. Computers handle the large quantities of data required to keep accurate inventory records. Manufacturers also use computers to solve inventory problems, such as determining the quantity of an item to order and when to place the order.
Computer-based automated data-collection devices enable a manager to monitor the status of products as they are being made. Many types of manufacturing equipment have on-board computers. Such computers control the heating cycles of the large furnaces used to process raw materials and direct arc-welding robots to make the proper straight or curved weld. 
The Internet aids manufacturers in dealing with their suppliers, distributors, and customers. Parts manufacturers use the Internet to track their customers’ production activities and so are able to supply parts on a just-in-time basis. Many manufacturers order products and make payments electronically over the Internet.
How governments help manufacturing
Thousands of government laws and regulations protect a manufacturer’s property. The government also provides legal ways to buy and sell property and to establish companies. Government helps keep money stable so that its value does not change greatly from day to day and from one area to another. The government permits manufacturers to patent new products or methods that they have developed (see Patent).
Governments furnish businesses with statistics that help them plan their sales and purchases. They give manufacturers loans at low rates of interest, and sometimes give them subsidies, or outright grants (see Subsidy). Governments protect home industries by levying tariffs on goods imported from other countries (see Tariff). Many nations encourage manufacturers to build factories by not levying taxes on their profits for a certain period. Some governments fund manufacturing-related research at colleges and universities.
