Secondary Industry
This sector, also called
manufacturing industry, (1) takes the raw materials supplied by primary industries and processes them into consumer goods, or (2) further processes goods that other secondary industries have transformed into products, or (3) builds capital goods used to manufacture consumer and nonconsumer goods. Secondary industry also includes energy-producing industries (
e.g., hydroelectric industries) as well as the
construction industry.
Secondary industry may be divided into heavy, or large-scale, and light, or small-scale, industry.
Large-scale industry generally requires heavy capital investment in plants and
machinery, serves a large and
diverse market including other manufacturing industries, has a complex industrial organization and frequently a skilled specialized
labour force, and generates a large volume of output. Examples would include
petroleum refining,
steel and iron manufacturing, motor vehicle and heavy machinery manufacture,
cement production, nonferrous metal refining, meat-packing, and
hydroelectric power generation.
Light, or small-scale, industry may be characterized by the nondurability of manufactured products and a smaller capital investment in plants and equipment, and it may involve nonstandard products, such as customized or craft work. The labour force may be either low skilled, as in
textile work and
clothing manufacture,
food processing, and plastics manufacture, or highly skilled, as in
electronics and computer hardware manufacture, precision instrument manufacture, gemstone cutting, and craft work.
