The Location of Manufacturing Businesses
Before the 1600’s iron factories were mainly situated where there were
surface outcrops of iron ore and abundant wood for use as charcoal.
Locations were at the source of these two raw materials as they had a
high material index, were bulky and expensive to transport, had a
limited market and could not be moved far owing to the poor transport
system. Before the 1700’s local iron ore in the Sheffield area was
turned to iron by using fast flowing rivers to turn water wheels as
water provided a cheaper source of energy. After 1700 Abraham Derby
discovered that coal could be used to smelt iron ore efficiently, at
the time it took 8 tonnes of coal while it only took 4 tonnes of iron
so the new furnaces were located on coalfields. One of the first areas
to develop was South Wales where bands of iron were found between
seams of coal. When local ores became exhausted the industry continued
in the same locations because of geographical inertia, a pool of local
skilled labour, a local market using iron ore materials improved
techniques reducing the amount of coal needed, improved and cheaper
transport systems, which brought distant, mined iron ore and the
begging of the agglomeration economies. After 1950 iron ore was still
the major raw material, but with deposits in the UK largely exhausted,
Britain became increasingly reliant upon imported ore. This meant that
new integrated steelworks were located on coastal sites. By 1980, the
only two remaining inland sites at Revenscaig and Scunthorpe had been
linked to new and nearby ore terminals.
Weber’s Theory was that they locate next to the raw materials because
the raw material loses weight in manufacturing and it is heavy to
transport. Until the 1950’s the iron and steal industry satisfied much
of Weber’s theory, after that, unforeseen by him 40 years earlier,
three elements became increasingly important in the location of new
steel works: Government Intervention led to improved technology and
reduced transport costs. Since the nationalisation of the industry,