Economy

The manufacturing and service industries are Detroit's principal employers, each accounting for about a third of the workforce. Most of the remaining jobs are in commerce and government. Detroit is a busy center for conventions and trade shows. The Civic Center's Cobo Center and Arena are the chief locations of these activities.

Automobile manufacturing is the largest and most important industry. Although the city's share of the nation's total production has been declining since the 1950's, a major portion of the cars and trucks produced annually in the United States still come from plants in the Detroit area. There are also extensive facilities for automotive research and development.

The making of machinery and fabricated metal products is of major importance. These industries—based in part on locally produced iron, steel, and other metals—exist primarily as suppliers to the automobile companies but also make a wide range of non-automotive goods. Detroit is a leading producer of machine tools, metal forgings and stampings, hardware, aircraft parts, and electric and electronic items.

Chemical manufacturing is a well-developed Detroit industry, yielding primarily Pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals. Oil refining, food processing, publishing and printing, and the production of textiles, apparel, and rubber goods, especially tires, are also important.

Detroit is a major wholesale and retail trading center of the upper Great Lakes region and ranks, in this respect, second only to Chicago in the Midwest. Banking, insurance, and other financial activities are also significant. The city is the headquarters of Michigan's principal financial institutions and has a Federal Reserve branch bank. Heavy trade with Canada through Windsor helps make Detroit one of the nation's leading export cities.

Detroit is an important center of land, air, and water transportation. It lies at the junction of three Interstate highways and is served by a number of railways and hundreds of trucking lines. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of the business district, handles domestic and international flights and is one of the busiest airports in the Midwest. The Detroit area is also served by Willow Run Airport, near Ypsilanti, and Coleman A. Young International Airport, near the downtown area. The Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel (vehicular), and a railway tunnel link Detroit and Windsor.

The Detroit River forms part of the Great Lakes—St. Lawrence Seaway system and is one of the nation's busiest inland waterways. The port of Detroit handles domestic and foreign trade, receiving mainly bulk cargoes, such as metal ores, coal, and petroleum, and shipping manufactured goods.

Buses provide the main form of public transportation. An automated elevated rail system, called the People Mover, serves the downtown area. Commuter trains link the city and some of the suburbs.