Assessing the Midwest economy--a longer view

Middle West ; Manufactures

Caution ahead—challenges to the Midwest’s role in the auto industry

This article examines the recent break in the relationship between motor vehicle production and the auto region’s employment, particularly the impact of the decline in Big Three market share.Automobile industry and trade

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

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

Automobile industry and trade ; Manufactures

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

How lean manufacturing changes the way we understand the manufacturing sector

Manufactures ; Automobile industry and trade

Location trends of large company headquarters during the 1990s

This article documents changes in the spatial distribution of corporate headquarters of large U.S.-domiciled corporations during the 1990s. The authors find that the largest metropolitan areas continue to host a disproportionate share of headquarters, but there have been significant shifts toward cities with population between one and two million.Metropolitan areas - Statistics ; Corporations - Headquarters

Headquarters wanted: principals only need apply

Corporations - Headquarters ; Metropolitan areas - Statistics ; Population