Previously, we introduced you to heavy industry and light industry. Now, we will highlight the key differences between both industrial classifications.
We will start with the definitions of the heavy industry and light industry. Afterward, we will compare the key characteristics of both industries. Then, we will continue with real-life examples of heavy industry and light industry sectors.
At the end of this article, you’ll be able to distinguish heavy industry & light industries easily!
Definition
Let’s start with the basics. How do we define heavy industry and light industry?
Note: “Heavy industry” and “light industry” are synonymous with “heavy manufacturing” and “light manufacturing”. Both terms are equally popular. We will use both sets of terms interchangeably in this article.
What Is Heavy Industry?
Heavy industry is an industry segment that makes goods intended for business purposes. After being produced, a heavy industry product is used either as:
- A material that will be further processed to make goods (e.g., a steel plate that will be used to make a car’s body).
- A machine that will be used for production activities (e.g., a spinning machine to create yarns from cotton – commonly used in the textile industry).
- An object that will be used for business purposes (e.g., a container ship that transports goods worldwide).
Heavy industry goods are business-to-business (B2B) oriented. They’re used for further business activities and not for personal consumption. Hence, consumers of heavy industry goods are mostly organizations (e.g., corporations and governments) and not personal consumers.
Check out our What Is Heavy Industry? guide for a deeper dive into this industry segment.
What Is Light Industry?
Meanwhile, the light industry’s definition is the opposite of the heavy industry’s. Light industry is an industry segment that produces goods meant for personal consumption. Imagine products such as:
- The coffee that we drink every morning.
- The clothes that we wear every day.
- The phone that we use to browse the internet.
These are perfect examples of light industry products. They are used directly by their end consumers and are not used for further production activities. Thus, light industry products are business-to-customer (B2C) in nature.
The term “light industry” does not imply small-scale production. It’s simply a manufacturing segment that makes products intended for direct consumer use.
However, these products are indeed mostly smaller and take less resources to make than their heavy industry counterparts. Explore our What Is Light Industry? piece to learn more.
An Example: Light Manufacturing vs Heavy Manufacturing
To help you see the difference between heavy & light industries, we’ll use a spoon as an example.
Most spoons are made by cutting stainless steel plates in the form of a spoon. Meanwhile, stainless steel plates are created by smelting iron ores, carbon, and other materials in a furnace.
The spoon is a light industry product, as it will be used directly by an individual customer. Meanwhile, the stainless steel plate is a heavy industry product – as it’s used by the silverware factory to produce a spoon.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of heavy industry & light industries, let’s compare their characteristics:
Capital Intensity for Each Product Made
The most visible difference between heavy & light manufacturing industries is the amount of capital needed to make a product. Capital can be in the form of:
- Materials and/or components required to make the product.
- The needed workforce.
- Production machines, tools, and facilities.
- The time needed to complete the product.
Heavy Industry
Overall, heavy industry manufacturers need more capital to make a product. This is because:
- Heavy industry goods are meant for industrial/business purposes. Therefore, they’re commonly larger in size. Hence, they need more materials and/or components to make.
- For instance, making an airplane’s fuselage requires far more aluminum than making a cooking pot.
- Due to their large size, heavy industry goods also require large production machines and tools in their production process. As a result, their production plants often occupy a large plot of land.
- For instance, making cement requires numerous large machines, such as a mill to grind limestones. Large mills can easily weigh over 40 tons and take over 100 m² of floor space. Due to their large machinery, cement factories often span tens of thousands of m² in land area
As a result of their high-performance demands, heavy industry goods are highly complex. Consequently, they require a large workforce with diverse skill sets to complete.
- A high-speed train is a good example. It must be able to run at least 200 Km/h – while carrying hundreds of passengers on board comfortably. This complex product requires hundreds of workers from various backgrounds – from welders to interior designers.
- It also takes a long time to manufacture a high-speed train. Starting from the design process, sourcing and assembling its components, and then testing & certifying it.
Light Industry
On the other hand, light industry products need less capital to make. The reasons are:
- Light industry goods are only meant for personal or household consumption. Hence, their scale is much smaller compared to their heavy industry counterparts. Naturally, they require fewer materials and/or components to make.
- Some skincare products use sulfur as their base ingredient. Similarly, many industrial fertilizers also have sulfur on their list of ingredients. And obviously, a 10-liter industrial fertilizer requires more sulfur to make than a 50-ml skincare ointment.
- Because of their smaller sizes, small industry goods typically require smaller machinery to produce compared to their heavy industry counterparts.
- We can use the comparison between the ceramic tableware and oil refining industries. Both industries involve combustion in their production activities.
- However, the combustion machines in oil refineries are far larger than the ones in tableware factories. In the ceramics tableware industry, clay pieces cast into plates, bowls, and cups are heated in a clay kiln – generally only as big as a small room. Similarly, oil refining also involves combustion. However, crude oil is heated in a furnace tower – which is at least 20 meters tall.
- And, of course, light industry goods can be made rapidly with a small workforce.
- For example: except for regular machine maintenance, bottled shampoos can be produced rapidly in a factory – with virtually no pause. Thanks to automated machines, human employees are only involved as supervisors and quality controllers.
- This means that a small workforce can produce large volumes of bottled shampoos in just a short period. Compare this with the process of liquifying natural gas (a heavy industry product) – which takes around 12 hours to complete. In addition, this process involves many experts, from chemists to workplace safety specialists.
Environmental Impact
Another visible difference between the heavy & light industries is their environmental impact. In general, heavy industry plants have a larger environmental impact than their light industry counterparts because:
Energy Consumption
Heavy industry plants are typically bigger in terms of floor area. Therefore, their electricity, water, heating, and cooling costs are naturally higher than those of their light industry peers.
Additionally, some production activities involve processing raw materials and transforming them into another matter. For example, iron ores must be heated to around 1,600 °C to make industry-grade steel. Powering a furnace to reach this temperature requires plenty of energy.
Meanwhile, light industries rarely ever need to transform matters into another form. Hence, their production activities are less energy-consuming.
Pollution
Due to their large-scale operations, intense energy consumption, and exposure to raw materials, some heavy industry sectors can be very polluting.
Imagine air pollution from combustion in cement-making, water pollution from discharges in the chemical industry, and noise pollution from the gigantic machines in shipbuilding docks. Due to its harmful impact on the environment, heavy industry is sometimes associated with the term “dirty industry”.
Light industries can also be polluting. However, due to their less energy-intensive nature, lighter machinery, and minimal exposure to raw material processing, light industries tend to emit less pollution than their heavy industry peers.
Companies in both types of industries must be aware of their environmental impact and minimize it as much as possible. To reduce their environmental footprint, these companies can take measures such as: recycling, reducing the use of fossil fuels, investing in energy-efficient technology, and using smart manufacturing software.
Plant Location
Due to their larger environmental impacts, heavy industry plants are subject to strict environmental laws. They can only be built in specific zones – often far away from cities.
Meanwhile, thanks to their smaller environmental footprint, light industry manufacturers have more choices when building their plant’s location. Light industry plants are commonly found in city outskirts and industrial parks.
Barrier to Entry
In general, heavy industries have a higher barrier of entry compared to light industries because they need to build or procure:
- A plant with a vast land area – typically spanning tens of thousands of m².
- Large-scale and powerful production machines.
- A big workforce with a diverse skill set.
Additionally, running a heavy industry plant is also more challenging because:
- The stricter environmental regulations that heavy industries must comply with.
- Higher operational costs due to their energy-intensive production activities and having a larger labor force.
- Heavy industry products are niche-specific, which makes their market demand less stable.
It’s extremely difficult for small and medium-sized companies to set foot in this segment due to its high barrier to entry. That’s why, most heavy industry manufacturers are either large corporations or state-owned enterprises.
Industry Examples
Now that you’ve understood the key characteristics of heavy & light manufacturers, here are some of the most well-known industry sectors that fall under each segment:
Heavy Industry Examples
- Chemicals
- Commercial vehicles
- Heavy machinery manufacturing
- Metal production
Learn more about these heavy manufacturing examples.
Light Industry Examples
- Consumer electronics
- Fast-moving consumer goods
- Pharmaceuticals
- Textiles
Be sure to see our explanation for these light manufacturing examples.
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