Industy, agriculture and transport in the United Kingdom of Great Britain

 South Ural State University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Industy, agriculture and transport in the United Kingdom of Great Britain

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made by: Gainanova Dinara

AC-268

 

                                                                  Checked by:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chelyabinsk

2012

 

   TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

INTRODUCTION

In the 18th century the UK was the first country in the world to industrialise, and during the 19th century possessed a dominant role in the global economy. From the late-19th century the Second Industrial Revolution in the United States and the German Empire presented an increasing challenge to Britain's role as leader of the global economy. Despite victory, the costs of fighting both the First World War and Second World War further weakened the relative economic position of the UK, and by 1945 Britain had been superseded by the United States as the world's dominant economic power. However, the UK still maintains a significant role in the world economy.

The UK is one of the world's most globalised countries. London is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York and has the largest city GDP in Europe. As of December 2010 the UK had the third-largest stock of both inward and outward foreign direct investment (in each case after the United States and France).The aerospace industry of the UK is the second- or third-largest national aerospace industry, depending upon the method of measurement. The pharmaceutical industry plays an important role in the UK economy and the country has the third-highest share of global pharmaceutical R&D expenditures (after the United States and Japan). The British economy is boosted by North Sea oil and gas reserves, valued at an estimated £250 billion in 2007. The UK is currently ranked seventh in the world (and third in Europe) in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index.

The UK is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the European Union, the G7, the G8, the G20, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.

 

 

 

 

1.INDUSTRY IN THE UK

1.2.Overview of UK Industry

Industrialisation (or industrialization) is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one. It is a part of a wider modernisation process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and metallurgy production.

The first country to industrialise was the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution commencing in the eighteenth century.

As the originator of the industrial revolution the UK’s economy initially relied on heavy industries such as shipbuilding, coal mining, steel production, and textiles and dominated international trade in the 19th century. As other nations industrialized, coupled with the sharp losses the country suffered as result of the two world wars and the deterioration of the British Empire, the UK began to lose its industrial advantage. Ironically, today the role of heavy industry in the world's first industrialized nation continues to decline in importance.

The UK’s main industries today are banking and finance, steel, transport equipment, oil and gas, and tourism.

1.3.Major UK Industries

1.3.1.Production industries

 -Electricity and gas supply

United Kingdom produced 60 % of its consumed natural gas in 2010. In five years the United Kingdom moved from almost gas self-sufficient to 40% gas import in 2010.

Gasfields include Amethyst gasfield, Armada gasfield, Easington Catchment Area, East Knapton, Everest gasfield and Rhum gasfield.

-Electricity supply

With the development of the national grid, the switch to using electricity, UK electricity consumption increased by around 150% between the post war nationalisation of the industry in 1948 and the mid 1960s. During the 1960s growth slowed as the market became saturated. The UK is planning to reform it's Electricity Market. It plans to introduce a capacity mechanism and contracts for difference to encourage the building of new generation.

And now the electricity sector in the United Kingdom relies mainly on fossil fuelled power and 15-20 % in nuclear power. The United Kingdom is expected to launch the building of new nuclear reactors to replace existing generators and to boost UK's energy reserves

-Manufacturing

Heavy industry, employing many thousands of people and producing large volumes of low-value goods (such as steelmaking) has either become highly efficient or has been replaced by smaller industrial units producing high-value goods (such as the aerospace and electronics industries).

The aerospace industry of the UK is the second- or third-largest aerospace industry in the world, depending upon the method of measurement. British companies with a major presence in the industry include BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce (the world's second-largest aircraft engine maker). Foreign aerospace companies active in the UK include EADS and its Airbus subsidiary, which employs over 13,000 people in the UK.

The pharmaceutical industry employs around 67,000 people in the The UK. It also is home to GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, respectively the world's third- and seventh-largest pharmaceutical companies.

 

Pic.1.A Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine

 

 

 

 

-Mining and quarrying

 

 

 

 

Pic.2.A drilling rig in the North Sea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mining in the United Kingdom produces a wide variety of Fossil fuels, metals, and industrial minerals. In 2006, there were over 2,200 active mines, quarries, and offshore drilling sites on the continental land mass of the United Kingdom.

The metal industry is one of UK's great exports.  Much of the industry is evolved around the production of steel for use in motor vehicle manufacturing, wire, cans, metal boxes and industrial plants.  The metal industry peaked in the 1970's until the oil crisis.  A shift to the production of smaller automobiles has negatively impacted the steel demand.  One of the most important steel companies in UK is the British Steele Corporation. It produces the majority of the nation's iron and steel supply.

The UK metal industry still needs to import about one quarter of the finished steel products to UK.  UK also imports about half of its demand for crude steel.  Steel rods typically come from Turkey or Venezuela, and structural beams from Japan or Thailand.

The minerals industry in the UK covers cement, glass and ceramics.  Sand, gravel and limestone are used in the construction industry to make cement.  Other minerals valued are slate, tale, chalk, talc, clay, sandstone, gypsum, barite, celestite, dolomite and kaolin.

 The UK is home to a number of large energy companies, including two of the six oil and gas "supermajors" – BP and Royal Dutch Shell – and BG Group.

There are also:

Clothing

• Growth of international trade has had a negative impact on the apparel industry in UK.  Imports from developing countries have dominated the domestic market.  UK manufacturing companies have relocated their facilities to lower cost countries such as India and China.  This trend continues to grow today.  Jobs in this manufacturing sector have declined accordingly.  It represents a good opportunity for those importers in UK interested in buying fashion overseas.   

Footwear

• The decline in footwear manufacturing and footwear exports in UK began several decades ago.  To remain competitive, many of the UK footwear production have moved to cheaper sites outside of the UK.  Materials have shifted away from leather to less expensive plastics and vinyl.  Similar to the clothing industry, the remaining footwear manufacturers in UK began a process of specialization such as focusing on high end sports footwear.

Food and Drink

• UK's Food and Drink industry is the country's largest manufacturing industry.  It employs over 400,000 employees across 7000 companies.  As an industry, it is quite diverse.  Food products include bakery, confectionary, dairy and processed foods.  Drinks include various kinds of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.  Due to its energy intensive process, reducing CO2 emissions and footprint is a growing trend amongst Food & Drink companies.

Tobacco

• The tobacco industry in the UK produces cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, rolling tobacco and snuff.  The industry is capital intensive due to the high degree of automation.  It is also heavily taxed as a revenue source for the U.K. government.  This industry has caused much public debate over the years due to the health risks associated with the products.  Smoking advertising has been scrutinized.

Printing

• There are more than 10,000 printing companies in UK employing well over 150,000 employees.  Although this industry has over capacity resulting in declining prices, it is still one of the largest industries in UK.  Products in the printing industry include newspapers, magazines, books, stationary, greeting cards, banknotes and postage stamps.  The two largest printing companies in UK are St. Ives and Stephens and George.  St. Ives is focused on advertising and magazine printing.  Stephens and George specializes in sheet-fed litho printing of magazines and commercial products.

Chemical

• The chemical industry in the UK adds value by converting chemicals and selling the products for further conversion or for manufacturing into final products.  Such final products cover a wide range of categories from soaps, dyes, fuels, fuel additives, pesticides, fertilizers, paints, cleaners, inks, and medicines.  The chemical industry is one of the largest exports in the UK as measured by sales.  Much of the industry is regulated due to product safety and the potential impact on the environment. Reducing carbon emissions and the green movement are topics of great interest today.

Paper

• The production of paper in UK has its origins linking it to the Chinese.  The knowledge of making paper migrated from China to the Middle East and then to Europe by the eleventh century. John Tate operated UK's first paper mill on the River Lee near Hertford by the end of the fifteenth century.  Today, the production of paper in UK receives lots of attention from the Green movement due to forestry being a renewable resource. The paper industry has shifted to using recycled paper as a major raw material.  In fact, the UK has a surplus of waste paper due to the country's increasing recycling efforts.  About a third of the country's waste paper is exported to china and the Far East. Much of the paper making process has improved to be "green" friendly with goals of reducing carbon emission.

Engineering

• The engineering industry in UK can be broken down into electrical, electronic, instrumentation, transportation and mechanical types of engineering.  Many of the firms involved in engineering produce products that are highly profitable ranging from telecommunications to aerospace.  

1.3.2.Service industries

The service sector is the dominant sector of the UK economy, and contributes around 73% of GDP.

-Creative industries

The creative industries refers to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. They may variously also be referred to as the cultural industries or the creative economy.

Creative economy comprises advertising, architecture, art, crafts, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, publishing, software, toys and games, TV and radio, and video games.

Taking the UK as an example, in the context of other sectors, the creative industries make a far more significant contribution to output than hospitality or utilities and deliver four times the output due to agriculture, fisheries and forestry. In terms of employment and depending on the definition of activities included, the sector is a major employer of between 4-6% of the UK's working population, though this is still significantly less than employment due to traditional areas of work such as retail and manufacturing.

Key areas include London and Manchester which are the two largest creative industry clusters in Europe respectively.

Within the creative industries sector of the UK the three largest sub-sectors are design, publishing, and television and radio.

-Education, health and social work

 

 

Pic.3.Queen Elizabeth     Hospital Birmingham

 

 

 

 

Education in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter with each of the countries of the United Kingdom having separate systems under separate governments: the UK Government is responsible for England, and the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive are responsible for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively.

Full-time education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 and 16, with a child beginning primary education during the school year he or she turns 5. Students may then continue their secondary studies for a further two years (sixth form), leading most typically to A-level qualifications, although other qualifications and courses exist, including Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) qualifications, the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the Cambridge Pre-U. The leaving age for compulsory education was raised to 18 by the Education and Skills Act 2008.

Higher education often begins with a three-year bachelor's degree. Postgraduate degrees include master's degrees, either taught or by research, and the doctorate, a research degree that usually takes at least three years. Universities require a Royal Charter in order to issue degrees, and all but one are financed by the state via tuition fees, which are increasing in size for both home and European Union students.

Healthcare in the United Kingdom is a devolved matter, meaning England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each have their own systems of private and publicly-funded healthcare. Each country having different policies and priorities has resulted in a variety of differences existing between the systems. That said, each country provides public healthcare to all UK permanent residents that is free at the point of need, being paid for from general taxation.

Taken together, the World Health Organization, in 2000, ranked the provision of healthcare in the United Kingdom as fifteenth best in Europe and eighteenth in the world.

-Financial and business services

 

Pic.4.The City of London is the world's largest financial centre alongside New York.

 

The UK's exports of financial and business services make a significant positive contribution towards the country's balance of payments.

London is a major centre for international business and commerce and is one of the three "command centres" of the global economy (alongside New York City and Tokyo).

There are over 500 banks with offices in London, and it is the leading international centre for banking, insurance, Eurobonds, foreign exchange trading and energy futures. London's financial services industry is primarily based in the City of London and Canary Wharf. The City houses the London Stock Exchange, the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, the London Metal Exchange, Lloyds of London, and the Bank of England.  London is also a major centre for other business and professional services, and four of the six largest law firms in the world are headquartered there.

Several other major UK cities have large financial sectors and related services. Edinburgh has one of the large financial centres in Europe and is home to the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Standard Life. Leeds is now the UK's largest centre for business and financial services outside London, and the largest centre for legal services in the UK after London.

-Real estate and renting activities

 

Pic.5.MediaCityUK in Salford, Greater Manchester – an example of real estate activity

 

 

 

 

The real estate and renting activities sector includes the letting of dwellings and other related business support activities. Notable real estate companies in the United Kingdom include British Land and The Peel Group.

The UK property market boomed for the seven years up to 2008 and in some areas property trebled in value over that period. The increase in property prices had a number of causes: low interest rates, credit growth, economic growth, rapid growth in buy to-let property investment, foreign property investment in London and planning restrictions on the supply of new housing.

-Tourism

Tourism is very important to the British economy.

he United Kingdom is the world's 6th biggest tourist destination, with 24.8 million visiting in 2003. Nevertheless, the number of travellers originating from Europe is larger than those travelling from North America - 21.5 million compared to 3.5 million American/Canadian visitors.

-Wholesale and retail trade

This sector includes the motor trade, auto repairs, personal and household goods industries.

The UK grocery market is dominated by five companies – Asda, The Co-operative Food, Morrisons, Sainsbury's and Tesco – which together have a market share of over 80%.

London is a major retail centre and in 2010 had the highest non-food retail sales of any city in the world, with a total spend of around £64.2 billion.

2.AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses around 70 of the country's land area and contributes about 0.6% of its gross value added. The UK produces less than 60% of the food it eats and the industry's share of the national economy is declining. Despite skilled farmers, high technology, fertile soil and subsidies, which primarily come from the European Union (EU), farm earnings are low and falling, mainly due to low prices at the farm gate. With each generation, fewer young people can afford the rising capital cost of entry into farming and more are discouraged by low earnings. The average age of the British farm holder is now 59.

The high cost of entry into farming presents a significant barrier. Land prices in the United Kingdom are high. Local authorities recognise this and some offer smallholdings intended to allow those with skill or training but little capital to set up as tenant farmers. Nevertheless, this provision is shrinking and there is an increasing shortage of farmland to let.

2.1.Organic farming

Organic farming is farming without chemical fertilisers, animal cruelty, most pesticides, genetic modification, or the routine use of drugs, antibiotics or wormers. In the United Kingdom it is supported and encouraged by the Soil Association. The Food Standards Agency says that organic food offers no additional nutritional benefits over the non-organic kind, though the Soil Association disputes this. However, there are definite benefits in terms of conservation and wildlife.

2.2.Biofuel

Biofuels are fuels derived from biomass. They can be used in their pure form to power vehicles, but most commonly they are blended with traditional fuels such as diesel.

 

Pic.6.Oilseed rape growing in Cornwall

 

 

 

 

 

Biofuel crops grown in the UK include oilseed rape (which is also grown for other purposes), short-rotation coppices such as poplar or willow, and miscanthus. Unfortunately biofuels are quite bulky for their energy yield, which means processing into fuel needs to happen near where the crop is grown; otherwise, most or all of the benefit of biofuels can be lost in transporting the biofuel to the processing area. Such local processing units are not generally available in the UK, and further expansion of this market will depend on politics and industrial finance.