Purpose of using these specific examples in this module
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- Rise in production cost
- Stricter pollution control
- Locational changes of the manufacturing industries in the UK
Labour shortage Since 2004, the Guangdong province has been encountering labour shortage. There are a variety of explanations for the labour shortage problem. Ageing population, poor working conditions, low wages, improving economic conditions in other less developed inland provinces are all reasons for it. Above all, that the major reasons are the less attractive salary and deteriorating work conditions in the manufacturing sector. In addition, with the development of manufacturing industry in inland provinces, rural dwellers are no longer interested in working in the coastal regions far away from their homes. The coastal provinces are losing their power to suck workers from their hinterland. Rise in production cost Increases in land prices and taxes, as well as stricter environmental and safety regulations all play a part in causing a rise in the production cost of manufacturing industry in China. The production cost of manufacturing industry rises sharply in the coastal provinces. The biggest contributing factor is labour cost. In 2012, an investment bank released a survey of over 200 Hong Kong-based manufacturers operating in the Pearl River Delta. It is found that wages have already risen by 10% in 2012. For example, Foxconn, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer that makes Apple's iPads in Shenzhen, put up salaries by 16-25% in 2011. Stricter pollution control In the past decades, due to the rapid industrial and urban development, the pollution problems in Guangdong province have been serious. The provincial government of Guangdong has implemented stricter pollution control requirements and standards in order to improve the situation. If those existing production facilities fail to meet the requirements and standards, they will be forced to close or move. Factories that continue to stay in the province must invest in more environmentally friendly manufacturing systems. Such policies have increased the cost of production. References: Guangdong Statistical Yearbooks http://www.gdstats.gov.cn/tjsj/default.htm Guangdong Statistical Yearbook 2013 http://www.gdstats.gov.cn/tjnj/2013 Yinnashan Eco-industrial Park http://www.mashpedia.com/videoplayer.php?q=hk0Bobv-5V8 
Since the mid-1970s, the UK has experienced great changes in manufacturing industry. The functions and locations of the manufacturing industry in the UK have been changing over times. Locational changes of the manufacturing industries in the UK In the 19th century, the main manufacturing industries were based on the use of coal and imported raw materials, such as iron ore and cotton. A main concern of the industries was the ability to export the finished products to other countries, particularly Britain’s former colonies. For these reasons, the major industrial areas were either on the major British coalfields or at ports on deep-water estuaries. Examples of such industries include: Textiles-woolen cloth in West Yorkshire and cotton cloth in Lancashire Steel in Sheffield Shipbuilding in Newcastle 
Figure 1 Location of traditional industries in the UK In recent decades, the UK manufacturing industries have shifted its emphasis from textile and steel-related industries to the high-tech industries that require a highly skilled and qualified workforce to carry out research and development (R&D). The accessibility to raw materials becomes less important in affecting industrial location. Instead the new high-tech industries concentrated in areas where skilled and well educated workforce can be attracted to work, or is available locally, under favourable government manpower resource policies. These high-tech industries are often described as ‘footloose’ because they are not tied to certain locations. At a local scale, they are commonly located at new industrial parks on the edges of towns, or alongside motorways with efficient transport. The following are the major new industrial areas in UK: ‘Silicon glen’ in central Scotland The Cambridge area Many small light industrial estates in ‘rural’ areas, e.g. East Anglia and Sussex. 
Figure 2 Location of new industries in the UK |