The Manufacturing Core

The manufacturing core of the United States consists of the Northeastern United States and the Southern section of Ontario.  According to Regional Landscapes of the United States and Canada, this area produces one-half of each country's steel and approximately 71% of the total number of manufactured cars (90).  Ten of the nation's biggest metropolitan areas are also located within this region.  The manufacturing core is loosely banded together by three locations: the Ohio River Valley, Megalopolis, and the Great Lakes.  These central areas are where most of the manufacturing occurs.  A manufacturing core generally has multiple large cities with even more medium sized cities, numerous industrial concentrations, great ethnic diversity, and a large quantity of migrants.  This area in the United States is most known for it's steel, automobile, and textile industries.  It is also notable for it's accessibility resources: interaction between locations, roads, railroads, airports, and navigable waterways which provide for cheap, convenient transportation.  San Diego, California also contributes, in a lesser degree, to the manufacturing industry but specializes in different categories.

The Manufacturing Core

This is a video of the inter-workings of a Steel Industry in Ohio in 1944

San Diego may not be the manufacturing core of the United States but it's industries still bear importance.  This beautiful city has always been known for it's military and defense industries but is now involving into a far more eclectic area in California.  The biotechnology industries in San Diego are thriving and even beginning to spawn some international competition.  Several small technology firms can be traced within San Diego's city limits.  Residents of San Diego are beginning to manufacture what is currently in global demand such as wireless cellular technology.  According to www.sandiego.gov the top 4 industries in San Diego are:

1.  Manufacturing
2. Defense
3. Tourism
4. Agriculture

There are also 6 additional clusters that San Diego focuses on:

1. Biotechnology/Biosciences
2. Defense and Space Manufacturing
3. Electronics Manufacturing
4. Business and Finance Services
5. Software 
6. Telecommunications

Many other industries in San Diego are beginning to rapidly develop such as environmental, transportation, recreation goods, and international trade.  Qualcomm, a wireless telecommunication company, was founded and is headquartered in San Diego.  A company entitled Websense is also located here and it specializes in web security gateway software.  San Diego's economy is primarily based upon it's port which is also the site of some of the only shipbuilding and submarine yards on the West Coast.  It houses the largest naval fleet and is the headquarters for many national defense contractor including General Atomics and NASSCO.

Qualcomm's next generation smartphone

Launch of navy ship by NASSCO in San Diego