Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the transformation of raw materials into finished products. It happens in factories, plants (= large factories) and mills (used for specific industries, eggs steel and textiles).

The word 'manufacturing' is often associited with industries like autos, chemicals, iron and steel. These industries, based on mass production, were once major employers in areas like America's'Rust Belt' (llinnois, lndiana, Michigan, Ohio) and
England's 'West Midlands' - regions associated with readly available coal, labour and inland waterways (= canals).  In the period after the Second World War these industries provided jobs for large numbers of blue-collar workers, working in secure, well-paid jobs and protected by unions.  During the 1970s and 80s these industries becames unprofitable in America and Europe.  Production methods were increasingly outdated, and this type of heavy industries