HKDSE Geography/M3/Classification of Manufacturing

There are several ways to classify manufacturing industries. This page covers three ways. We will discuss the fourth later.

Heavy vs Light

• Heavy industries use heavy and bulky inputs and produce heavy and bulky outputs.
• Light industries use light and small inputs and produce light and small outputs.

Examples of heavy: ship-building, car manufacturing

Examples of light: electronics, watches, toys, textiles

Capital-Intensive vs Labour-Intensive

Capital-intensive industries mainly rely on capital. Labour-intensive industries mainly rely on labour.

Capital is not just about money There are two kinds of capital. Working capital refers to money, financial assets like bonds, inventory, etc. Fixed capital refers to machinery, tools, equipment, etc.

Examples of capital-intensive: Information technology, silicon chip manufacturing

Examples of labour-intensive: Watches, toys, textiles...

High-Technology vs Low-Technology

Examples of hi-tech: Silicon chips, pharmacy

Examples of lo-tech: Watches, toys