The Birth of the American Auto Industry

1
The Birth of the American Auto Industry and The
Decline of the Railroads
How did the auto industry supersede the rail
roads as the centerpiece of American industrial
production? By Greg Ballard and Casey
Martner Industrial America, HIS 305 Spring 2007
2
Early Introduction to Society
The car to the right was shown to the public at
the 1983 Worlds Fair in Chicago where many who
saw the invention commented that it had the
ability to change the world. The automobile,
although not electric ones like this would do
that in only a few decades.
3
The Growth of Automobiles

• - In the year 1900 Americans registered 8,000
  automobiles.
• The Ford Highland Plant in 1903 employed 125
  workers and produced just over a thousand cars
• By 1910 Americans were registering 469,000
  automobiles.
• Likewise the Ford Highland Plant by 1914 employed
  12,880 workers and produced a massive 248,307
  cars a year.

Interesting Fact The early use of cars was
adopted by many, for instance physicians in large
urban cities in the US began purchasing
automobiles to make their practices more mobile.
The cars they owned quickly surpassed in number
that of commercial fleets like taxi companies in
cities like New York.
4
The Means to Produce
The Birth of The Modern Assembly Line Henry Ford
had announced in 1907 that he desired to make the
car attainable to the masses it would take
massive change.
5
The Assembly Line
The Problem Ford originally used a method of
production called the static line, where a car
would remain stationary during construction and
workers would move from one to another to do
their part of the construction.
6
Pictured to the left is Ransom Eli Olds, the
founder of Oldsmobile. Although Ford is
attributed with the assembly line Olds was
actually the first to change the means of
production from a static line to a moving line.
He placed his car on small carts that could be
pushed from one station to another. Interesting
Fact Ransom Olds also invented the powered lawn
mower.
To the right is Ransom Olds first Mass Produced
car from 1904 with his father seated at the
wheel. That year he broke a record by selling
4,000 cars.
7
The Solution
As the method used by Olds wasnt entirely
efficient Ford tried to develop something new.
Having found inspiration in a Chicago meat
packaging plant that used moving pulleys to
transport items from on employee to another Ford
began placing his in production cars on conveyer
belts by 1913. Additionally Ford brought the
materials to his
Henry Ford with a Model-T
employees by means of another conveyer belt.
This changed the speed of production remarkably
as there was no longer any preparation time
between applications.
8

An artists rendition of the Highland Plant. By
the end of 1913 when the plant was fully
operational as a modern assembly line Ford was
able to produce one Model-T every 3 minutes.
9

The final point of construction took place
outside the Highland factory where the Tonneau
cover would be attached to the car.
10
Birth of Mass Production
As the automobile industry continued to grow and
produce the massive amounts of raw and finished
goods started to lead the American industrial
economy in ways that it had never seen before.
As a result the onset of the Automobile made an
impact across the board.
11
Effects on Other Industries

• Uniroyal
• (tires)
• Previous to 1967 Uniroyal was known as the US
  Rubber Company, and it originally started as a
  company dedicated to the creation of rubber work
  boots and rubber gloves, and with the advent of
  cars a small division producing tires.
• During the early 1900s The company reacted to the
  growth of the auto industry and subsequent demand
  for tires.
• By 1917 the companys marketing department had
  split to create a new department for the
  marketing of solely tires. This phased out the
  importance of their boot production.

- To keep up with demand rubber tire production
in the United States quickly became a global
business with rubber plantations around the
world.
12
Effects on Other Industries

• Tool and Die Industry
• Cincinnati being the home to many Tool and Die
  companies was changed by the Automotive Industry
  as well, one such example was Geiers Cincinnati
  Milling Machine.
• They provided components and special machines to
  be used on the assembly line during the
  production of automobiles.
• 1914 it becomes a leader in the region, with most
  of its business selling parts to the Auto
  Industry. A regional record was set by the
  company in 1914 by surpassing 2,000,000 in
  sales, something that was unheard at the time due
  to a recession affecting the area.

- A lot of the Tool and Die companies in
Cincinnati had problems retaining workers as
their skills granted them job opportunities in
the auto plants.
13
Effects on Other Industries

• The Oil Industry
• To fuel the new fleets of black Model-Ts and
  their counterparts the growth of BIG OIL was
  required, a true result of the burgeoning auto
  industry throughout the world.
• Previously gasoline was a byproduct of oil
  refining, however the advent of a large amount of
  internal combustion motors created a large
  market. Today it is common place however, the
  turn of the century brought renewed power and
  demand to the oil industry.
• -A Perfect example is Standard Oil, a near
  monopoly by the time of the birth of the auto
  industry. A perfect situation to reap the
  benefits of a vast new market.

14
Conclusion
Opposite to the Rail Road industry the Automotive
Industry lead the way in adopting new
technologies and creating a market. This is
opposed to the government intervention through
land grants and oversight bodies like the ICC
that was required by the Rail Roads to reach this
height. Also where the railroads helped create
economic growth through its expansion the Auto
industry created and required new industries and
economic growth to facilitate itself. WHY IS
THIS? Questions to Consider Why do they adopt
new technology? Does the assembly line make this
easier? Does this innovation change the nation?
Are the effects still around today? Was it
possible because of larger market? The
railroads guided the American economy through
the 19th century, while the auto industry
powered the American economy into and through
the 20th century.