A pattern, not a single event
Camden is one of many cities in the Northeast and Midwest where manufacturing employment was high at the middle of the twentieth century and then fell. Economists and historians use the word deindustrialization for this broad shift away from manufacturing in places that had relied on it. It did not happen at one moment or for one reason, and it affected cities differently depending on what they made, where they were and how their leaders and employers responded.
It is also worth noting that manufacturing output in the United States as a whole did not simply vanish. In many sectors, output remained high or grew while the number of workers needed to produce it fell, and much of the new production took place in other locations. The experience of cities was therefore about where and how things were made, not only whether.
Forces commonly cited
Cheaper and larger sites elsewhere. Many older plants stood in dense urban areas, in multi-story buildings designed around belts and elevators. Newer production methods favored single-story layouts with room for assembly lines and truck access, and land for these was easier to find on the edges of metropolitan areas or in other regions. Moving was often more attractive than rebuilding.
Changes in transport. The waterfront and railroad sites that suited the nineteenth century became less important as trucking and the highway system grew. The role of older transport links is discussed in the articles on port facilities and railroad links. Containerized shipping also favored a small number of large ports.
Automation and productivity. New machinery and methods allowed factories to produce more with fewer workers. This is a long-running trend, and it reduced employment even in plants that stayed in place.
Competition and trade. In the decades after the Second World War, manufacturers in other countries rebuilt and expanded. Over time, trade liberalization and lower labor costs abroad intensified the competition, and some firms moved or outsourced production. The size of this effect compared with others is a subject of continuing debate among economists.
Corporate consolidation. Mergers and changes of ownership meant that decisions about plants were sometimes made far from the city. A branch plant could be closed as part of a company-wide restructuring, regardless of how well it performed locally.
Reduced defense and shipbuilding demand. For cities tied to naval work, the end of wartime orders and changes in procurement reduced demand. The Camden shipyard, whose history is told in the article on shipbuilding yards, closed in 1967.
Changing consumer products. Technologies changed what consumers bought. Companies whose products faced new competitors or shifting demand had to adapt, relocate or close.
Effects on cities
When plants close, the effects spread. Direct job losses are followed by cuts in spending at nearby shops and services, falling property values and reduced tax revenue. Cities that depend on property taxes may struggle to maintain services while their needs grow, a dynamic explained in the discussions of municipal distress and state oversight.
The effects were also unevenly distributed. In many places, people with the most options moved away, often to suburbs, while those with fewer resources stayed. Housing and lending policies shaped who could move and where, a history explained in the article on redlining history. Highway construction cut through some neighborhoods and made suburban commuting easier, as covered under urban highways. The combined result for many cities was population decline and concentrated poverty, a pattern outlined in the piece on population change in older industrial cities.
Former factory sites often left behind vacant buildings and land with possible contamination, a topic covered under industrial contamination. Clearing and preparing such land is slow and costly.
Why local explanations are tricky
It is tempting to assign blame to one party, whether a company, a union, a political leader or a government policy. Most careful accounts find a mix of national and global economic trends along with local decisions, and they disagree on the weights. Some cities adapted more successfully than others by building on health care, education or logistics, and some did not. Camden’s own experience combined all of these elements, and the broader course of the city is described in the article on twentieth century Camden.
Looking forward
Today, many former industrial cities seek to add new kinds of employment and reuse old land. Readers should approach claims about recovery with the same caution as claims about decline; the article on evaluating city comebacks suggests ways to do so. For current conditions, official statistics and local government sources are better than historical summaries, and this overview is intended only to explain the background.