Metallurgy, chemicals, engineering and light industry

Engineering supplies the economy with machines and equipment; it covers over 200 branches and has become a knowledge-intensive sector in the STR era. Its location is influenced by skilled labour, the science and technology base, transport, consumers and (for heavy engineering) nearness to metal. In shipbuilding China, the Republic of Korea and Japan lead. In car production China is first, followed by the USA, Japan, India, Germany and the Republic of Korea; the share of electric cars is growing fast. In aerospace the USA, Europe (France, Germany and others), Russia and China stand out. The four big engineering regions are North America, Western Europe, East and South-East Asia and the CIS. Light industry supplies everyday consumer goods (fabric, clothes, footwear); its main raw materials come from agriculture (cotton, wool, silk, flax, synthetic fibre). It needs much labour, so garment-making is moving to countries with cheap labour (China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam), while fashion centres are Paris, Milan, London and New York. Uzbekistan is among the major cotton growers and is expanding its textile industry.