Geographic concentration in U.S. manufacturing: evidence from the U.S. auto supplier industry

This paper investigates the issue of geographic concentration for the auto supplier industry by means of a large plant-level data set representing information for the year 1997. The industry continues to be highly spatially concentrated, even though its core region has changed over the last few decades and is now represented by the auto corridor, extending south from Michigan to Tennessee. Analysis at the more disaggregate level of individual parts suggests transportation costs, economies of scale and spillover effects as factors underlying the aggregate spatial pattern of the industry.Automobile industry and trade ; Manufactures

From tail fins to hybrids: How Detroit lost its dominance of the U.S. auto market

This article explores the decline of the Detroit Three (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors). The author identifies three distinct phases of the decline—the mid-1950s to 1980, 1980 to 1996, and 1996 to 2008—culminating in the bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors in 2009. In showing how the U.S. auto industry has evolved since the mid-1950s, this article provides a historical frame of reference for the ongoing debate about the future of this industry.

Determinants of supplier plant location: evidence from the auto industry

Automobile supplies industry ; Automobile industry and trade

Agglomeration in the U.S. auto supplier industry

Analysis of a large set of plant-level data shows the auto supplier industry to be highly spatially concentrated. Data on location of the plants' customers, however, suggest that immediate proximity to assembly plant is not necessary, despite a production system that emphasized low inventories and tight linkages.Automobile industry and trade

The geography of lean manufacturing: recent evidence from the U.S. auto industry

Automobile industry and trade ; Manufactures

How lean manufacturing changes the way we understand the manufacturing sector

Manufactures ; Automobile industry and trade

Effect of Auto Plant Openings on Net Migration in the Auto Corridor, 1980-1997

In linking demographic trends of the last two decades to the geographic dispersion of the auto industry, this article finds that the addition of a large plant significantly influences the migration experience of the host county as well as counties adjacent to it

The price of gasoline and the demand for fuel economy: evidence from monthly new vehicles sales data

This paper uses a unique data set of monthly new vehicle sales by detailed model from 1978- 2007, and implements a new identification strategy to estimate the effect of the price of gasoline on consumer demand for fuel economy. We control for unobserved vehicle and consumer characteristics by using within model-year changes in the price of gasoline and vehicle sales. We find a significant demand response, as nearly half of the decline in market share of U.S. manufacturers from 2002-2007 was due to the increase in the price of gasoline. On the other hand, an increase in the gasoline tax would only modestly affect average fuel economy.Gasoline ; Automobiles - Prices

Competition and trade in the U.S. auto parts sector

Exports of U.S. made auto parts have stalled in recent years, while import levels of auto parts have continued to increase. The authors detail the magnitude and destination of U.S. imports and exports of specific auto parts in order to assess the challenges facing U.S. parts suppliers.Automobile supplies industry ; Automobile industry and trade

The geographic evolution of the U.S. auto industry (pt. 2)

The authors examine changes in the footprint of the auto industry in the United States, starting in 1980 and tracking them through 2003. Their formal analysis of assembly and supplier plant locations traces the reorientation of the auto region from one that extends east–west to one that stretches north–south over this period. To accommodate the large size of the file and the number of illustrations, the article has been divided into two smaller files.Automobile industry and trade ; Automobile supplies industry