Secondary Activities
Secondary activities transform raw materials into goods with greater value. Manufacturing is the core, but the domain also includes processing, construction and power generation. Questions test classification and industrial location.
Classification and location
- By scale: cottage or household, small-scale and large-scale.
- By product: heavy (iron and steel) versus light (textiles); consumer versus basic or capital goods.
- By raw material: agro-based, mineral-based, forest-based and chemical-based.
- Location factors: raw material, power, water, labour, transport, market, capital, agglomeration and policy.
- Material index (MI) = weight of raw material / weight of finished product. MI above 1 suggests a weight-losing industry near raw material; MI below 1 suggests a weight-gaining industry near market.
Worked example
A plant uses 6 tonnes of ore to make 2 tonnes of metal: MI = 6/2 = 3, so it is weight-losing and should locate near the ore field unless power or transport costs outweigh this. A bottling plant using 1 tonne of concentrate to make 3 tonnes of drink has MI below 1 and locates near consumers.
Traps
Do not assume all manufacturing is footloose; footloose firms are relatively free of raw-material ties. High-technology industry often follows skilled labour and connectivity, not coal fields. Industrial inertia can keep an old region competitive after original advantages fade.