- Changing Time and Space Relations within the automotive industry: A case studyof the motor industry in KwaZulu-Natal   60 kb by    Ellingson, Julie-May & null, null & null, null | juliemaye@hotmail.com    Short Outline ISOCARP YOUNG PLANNERS PROGRAMME ABSTRACT The case study to be presented at the forthcoming ISOCARP Conference considers the extent to which the adoption of flexible production technologies and more specifically just- in-time production, within the automotive industry in Durban, is resulting in changes in the spatial location of industry; the nature of this change; and the implications for planning. The paper is well suited to Parallel Session 2 as it deals specifically with the effect globalization and the pressure to adopt flexible production technologies, is having on the space and locational requirements of industry. The presentation will start by reviewing the theoretical argument that in the transition towards flexible production, a radical shift occurs in the logic of industrial location and scale. This theoretical viewpoint is then tested against what is actually happening in the case of the automotive industry in KwaZulu-Natal. In order to provide an understanding of the context, an overview of the structure and dynamics of South African automotive industry and its rapid re-entry into the global economy will be provided. The way in which the automotive industry is responding to pressures to change to just-in- time production technologies and to shrink physical space and time distances will then be discussed. This will be followed by an assessment of the impact these changes have had on the space and locational requirements of the automotive industry. Finally, the need and opportunity for planning intervention will be analysed. Abstract The Japanese ''just-in-time'' (JIT) manufacturing system differs markedly from the Fordist ''just-in-case'' system leading to a number of theorists arguing that the adoption of JIT will result in the agglomeration of automotive component firms in close proximity to assemblers. The case study tests this hypothesis against what is happening in the case of the automotive component manufacturers serving Toyota Manufacturing in South Africa. Keywords -, , Case Study presented on the ISOCARP Congress 2001: Honey, I Shrunk the Space   Click to open the full paper as pdf document   Click to send an email to the author(s) of this paper