industry | Definition, Sectors, & Facts | Britannica

Primary industry tends to dominate the economies of undeveloped and developing nations, but as secondary and tertiary industries are developed, its share of the ... industry Sections&Media Article IntroductionPrimaryindustrySecondaryindustryTertiaryindustryQuaternaryindustry FastFacts RelatedContent Media Images AdditionalInfo MoreArticlesOnThisTopic Contributors ArticleHistory Home Politics,Law&Government Economics&EconomicSystems industry Print print Print Pleaseselectwhichsectionsyouwouldliketoprint: TableOfContents Cite verifiedCite Whileeveryefforthasbeenmadetofollowcitationstylerules,theremaybesomediscrepancies. Pleaserefertotheappropriatestylemanualorothersourcesifyouhaveanyquestions. 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ExternalWebsites BritannicaWebsites ArticlesfromBritannicaEncyclopediasforelementaryandhighschoolstudents. industry-Children'sEncyclopedia(Ages8-11) industry-StudentEncyclopedia(Ages11andup) By TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica | ViewEditHistory FastFacts RelatedContent coppermine Seeallmedia KeyPeople: AndrewCarnegie MarquisdePombal OskarSchindler LeeKun-Hee BennettS.LeBow ...(Showmore) RelatedTopics: construction printing textile aerospaceindustry pharmaceuticalindustry ...(Showmore) Seeallfactsanddata→ industry,groupofproductiveenterprisesororganizationsthatproduceorsupplygoods,services,orsourcesofincome.Ineconomics,industriesaregenerallyclassifiedasprimary,secondary,tertiary,andquaternary;secondaryindustriesarefurtherclassifiedasheavyandlight.PrimaryindustryThissectorofanation’seconomyincludesagriculture,forestry,fishing,mining,quarrying,andtheextractionofminerals.Itmaybedividedintotwocategories:geneticindustry,includingtheproductionofrawmaterialsthatmaybeincreasedbyhumaninterventionintheproductionprocess;andextractiveindustry,includingtheproductionofexhaustiblerawmaterialsthatcannotbeaugmentedthroughcultivation. ReadMoreonThisTopic NorthAmerica:Industry TheindustryofNorthAmericaisitschiefcontemporarysourceofwealth.ItfirstdevelopedatAtlanticcoastandMississippi... Thegeneticindustriesincludeagriculture,forestry,andlivestockmanagementandfishing—allofwhicharesubjecttoscientificandtechnologicalimprovementofrenewableresources.Theextractiveindustriesincludetheminingofmineralores,thequarryingofstone,andtheextractionofmineralfuels.Primaryindustrytendstodominatetheeconomiesofundevelopedanddevelopingnations,butassecondaryandtertiaryindustriesaredeveloped,itsshareoftheeconomicoutputtendstodecrease. GetaBritannicaPremiumsubscriptionandgainaccesstoexclusivecontent. SubscribeNow SecondaryindustryThissector,alsocalledmanufacturingindustry,(1)takestherawmaterialssuppliedbyprimaryindustriesandprocessesthemintoconsumergoods,or(2)furtherprocessesgoodsthatothersecondaryindustrieshavetransformedintoproducts,or(3)buildscapitalgoodsusedtomanufactureconsumerandnonconsumergoods.Secondaryindustryalsoincludesenergy-producingindustries(e.g.,hydroelectricindustries)aswellastheconstructionindustry.Secondaryindustrymaybedividedintoheavy,orlarge-scale,andlight,orsmall-scale,industry.Large-scaleindustrygenerallyrequiresheavycapitalinvestmentinplantsandmachinery,servesalargeanddiversemarketincludingothermanufacturingindustries,hasacomplexindustrialorganizationandfrequentlyaskilledspecializedlabourforce,andgeneratesalargevolumeofoutput.Exampleswouldincludepetroleumrefining,steelandironmanufacturing(seemetalwork),motorvehicleandheavymachinerymanufacture,cementproduction,nonferrousmetalrefining,meat-packing,andhydroelectricpowergeneration.manufacturingMoltensteelbeingpouredintoaladlefromanelectricarcfurnace,1940s.LibraryofCongress,Washington,D.C.(DigitalFileNumber:LC-DIG-fsac-1a35062)Light,orsmall-scale,industrymaybecharacterizedbythenondurabilityofmanufacturedproductsandasmallercapitalinvestmentinplantsandequipment,anditmayinvolvenonstandardproducts,suchascustomizedorcraftwork.Thelabourforcemaybeeitherlowskilled,asintextileworkandclothingmanufacture,foodprocessing,andplasticsmanufacture,orhighlyskilled,asinelectronicsandcomputerhardwaremanufacture,precisioninstrumentmanufacture,gemstonecutting,andcraftwork.TertiaryindustryThisbroadsector,alsocalledtheserviceindustry,includesindustriesthat,whileproducingnotangiblegoods,provideservicesorintangiblegainsorgeneratewealth.Thissectorgenerallyincludesbothprivateandgovernmententerprises.Theindustriesofthissectorinclude,amongothers,banking,finance,insurance,investment,andrealestateservices;wholesale,retail,andresaletrade;transportation;professional,consulting,legal,andpersonalservices;tourism,hotels,restaurants,andentertainment;repairandmaintenanceservices;andhealth,socialwelfare,administrative,police,security,anddefenseservices.QuaternaryindustryAnextensionoftertiaryindustrythatisoftenrecognizedasitsownsector,quaternaryindustry,isconcernedwithinformation-basedorknowledge-orientedproductsandservices.Likethetertiarysector,itcomprisesamixtureofprivateandgovernmentendeavours.Industriesandactivitiesinthissectorincludeinformationsystemsandinformationtechnology(IT);researchanddevelopment,includingtechnologicaldevelopmentandscientificresearch;financialandstrategicanalysisandconsulting;mediaandcommunicationstechnologiesandservices;andeducation,includingteachingandeducationaltechnologiesandservices.TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannicaThisarticlewasmostrecentlyrevisedandupdatedbyBrianDuignan. LearnMoreintheserelatedBritannicaarticles: NorthAmerica:Industry TheindustryofNorthAmericaisitschiefcontemporarysourceofwealth.ItfirstdevelopedatAtlanticcoastandMississippiRiverports,whererawmaterialstransportedfromabroadorbroughtbycoastaltradefromothercoloniescouldbemadeintogoodsfor… bacteria:Bacteriainindustry Anaerobicsugarfermentationreactionsbyvariousbacteriaproducedifferentendproducts.Theproductionofethanolbyyeastshasbeenexploitedbythebrewingindustryforthousandsofyearsandisusedforfuelproduction.Specificbacteriacarryouttheoxidationofalcoholtoacetic… cerealprocessing:Industrialuses Therelativelyminoruseofcerealsinnonfoodproductsincludesthecelluloseinthestrawofcerealsbythepaperindustry,flourformanufacturingstickingpastesandindustrialalcohol,andwheatglutenforcorebindersinthecastingofmetal.Ricechaffis… Historyatyourfingertips SignupheretoseewhathappenedOnThisDay,everydayinyourinbox! Emailaddress Bysigningup,youagreetoourPrivacyNotice. Thankyouforsubscribing! 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