Editing Deindustrialization (section)

== Causes of Decline ==

Multiple factors combined to undermine Philadelphia's industrial economy. Competition from lower-wage regions—first the American South, then overseas—drew industries that had been attracted to Philadelphia for its skilled workforce and transportation connections. Automation reduced the number of workers needed for production that remained. Changes in transportation—the rise of trucking over railroads, containerization that favored coastal ports—diminished advantages that Philadelphia's location had once provided. Corporate consolidation closed facilities in Philadelphia as merged companies concentrated production elsewhere. The specific mix of causes varied by industry, but the outcome was consistent: declining employment in manufacturing.<ref name="licht">{{cite book |last=Licht |first=Walter |title=Getting Work: Philadelphia, 1840-1950 |year=1992 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge}}</ref>

The textile industry, which had employed tens of thousands in Kensington and other neighborhoods, exemplified deindustrialization's progression. Competition from lower-wage regions had been weakening the industry since before World War II. The [[Great Depression in Philadelphia|Depression]] eliminated marginal firms; postwar recovery never restored full employment. By the 1950s, mill closings had become routine. Southern competition, then imports from Asia and Latin America, steadily eroded the industry. By the 1980s, textile manufacturing in Philadelphia was essentially gone. The neighborhoods that had been built around textile mills—the rowhouses where workers lived, the corner stores that served them, the churches and social clubs—remained physically, but their economic purpose had vanished.<ref name="adams"/>