Manufacturing industries are high-technology industries that make complex products involving advanced technology. When the United States was a developing country in 1860, the structure of industry was much different. The leading industries were cotton goods, lumber, boots and shoes, flour milling, men's clothing, and then iron and machinery. These are basic industries supplying the needs of food, clothing, and shelter. This pattern of development of manufacturing industries is repeated in many other countries.
Industries progress from making basic goods to manufacturing advanced consumer and producer goods.
A producer good is used in the production of another product. The component parts of a radio or an automobile are producer goods, also called intermediate goods because they come at an intermediate stage in production.