A century of British Industry

At the close of the century, BBC News Online and Working Lunch, BBC2's daily business programme, take a look at fate of the key industries that dominated the UK's industrial landscape in the last 100 years.

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The car industry still motoring

The car industry was one of the triumphs of early British engineering, but eventually the multitude of firms contracted into just a few. In recent years foreign investment from Germany and Japan has transformed its prospects, and it is now an important export platform for Europe.

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The steel industry endures

The steel industry has become one of the most competitive and productive in the world, despite a massive slimming down process that cut the number of jobs dramatically. Sarah Dickins reports on transformation of British Steel in its Welsh heartland.

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Textiles in decline

It was British innovation that took textiles into the industrial age, and once the UK led the world in textile exports. Now it's an industry fighting to survive against imports from abroad, and jobs and factories are still disappearing fast.

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The fall of King Coal

Coal was the powerhouse of the UK economy in 1900, with more than a million working in the pits. More than any industry, it has been the victim of political as well as economic forces. Yet a handful of mines are among the most competitive in Europe.

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Yards staying afloat

Two-thirds of the world's ships used to come from UK shipyards. Since the Second World War, Far Eastern rivals have come to dominate the market, while British yards have had to re-invent themselves to stay in business.

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