05/09/2014
Manufacturing is the production of
merchandise for use or sale using labor and
machines , tools , chemical and biological
processing, or formulation. The term may
refer to a range of human activity, from
handicraft to high tech , but is most
commonly applied to industrial production,
in which raw materials are transformed into
finished goods on a large scale. Such
finished goods may be used for
manufacturing other, more complex
products, such as aircraft, household
appliances or automobiles, or sold to
wholesalers , who in turn sell them to
retailers , who then sell them to end users –
the " consumers".
Manufacturing takes turns under all types of
economic systems . In a free market
economy, manufacturing is usually directed
toward the mass production of products for
sale to consumers at a profit. In a
collectivist economy, manufacturing is more
frequently directed by the state to supply a
centrally planned economy. In mixed market
economies, manufacturing occurs under
some degree of government regulation .
Modern manufacturing includes all
intermediate processes required for the
production and integration of a product's
components. Some industries, such as
semiconductor and steel manufacturers use
the term fabrication instead.
The manufacturing sector is closely
connected with engineering and industrial
design . Examples of major manufacturers in
North America include General Motors
Corporation , General Electric, Procter &
Gamble, General Dynamics , Boeing , and
Pfizer. Examples in Europe include
Volkswagen Group , Siemens, and Michelin .
Examples in Asia include Toyota , Samsung,
and Bridgestone .