Upjohn Research

Title

Who Really Made Your Car?: Restructuring and Geographic Change in the Auto Industry

Authors

Thomas H. Klier, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
James M. Rubenstein, Miami University, Ohio

Year

2008

Abstract

The authors present the key characteristics of the vast network of auto parts suppliers and describe the changing geography of U.S. motor vehicle production at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

Contents

1. The Parts of Your Vehicle
2. Rise and Fall of Vertical Integration in the Midwest
3. Supplying the Power
4. The Body Builders
5. Supplying the Suppliers
6. The Closely Linked Supply Chain
7. Seat Supplier Right Next Door
8. Delivering the Goods
9. Emergence of Auto Alley
10. Abandoning Ohio: A Tale of Two Cities
11. Chassis Suppliers Move South in Auto Alley
12. Working for Suppliers
13. The Rising Tide of Imports
14. The Driving Force: Electronics Suppliers
15. Conclusion: Surviving the Car Wars

Citation

Klier, Thomas H., and James M. Rubenstein. 2008. Who Really Made Your Car?: Restructuring and Geographic Change in the Auto Industry. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

ISBN

978-0-88099-334-0 (cloth); 978-0-88099-333-3 (pbk)

Subject Areas

GLOBAL ISSUES; Globalization; Outsourcing; Productivity; Firm performance; REGIONAL ISSUES; Industry studies