The Auto Alley is an area of concentrated

automobile manufacturing The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, repairing, and modification of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, from southern Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico in the Southeastern United States.{{cite web , url=https://www.dallasfed.org/~/media/documents/educate/events/2014/14globalklier.pdf , title=Evolving Geography of Automobile Manufacturing in North America (Global Economic Forum) , date=June 30, 2014 , author=Thomas KlierThe Changing Geography of the American Auto Industry
/ref>

Location

Dozens of plants are in the area of highest concentration in southeastern Michigan (including the Motor City of Detroit), Ohio, and southern Ontario. The band includes neighboring states on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

, and extends south to the Gulf of Mexico, generally between the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

and the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. From southern Michigan (including Detroit) to Alabama. As of 2015, though parts suppliers operate in most states (though disproportionately in Auto Alley), there is only one plant owned by an automobile manufacturer on the East Coast. Only a few automaker-owned plants are substantially west of the Mississippi River—in Kansas City, Texas, and coastal California. In Mexico, plants are concentrated near the Coahuila-Nuevo León border, and in central Mexican states.

Overview

The Auto Alley is the region that includes both the suppliers and the manufactures of automobiles. The suppliers are clustered in the southern United States, and also in northern Mexico, while the manufactures are mostly clustered in the northern US

midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, especially Michigan, but also includes parts of Canada. Processed supplies are shipped from the south to the north to be manufactured into finished projects. Because of this arrangement, there are movements to move manufacturing towards the south, or move suppliers to the north, but these movements have so far produced limited results.

References

Economic regions of the United States