How it began
In October 1913 Henry Ford introduced the moving assembly line at the Highland Park factory in Michigan. The line for the Model T chassis began running on October 7, 1913. The Library of Congress notes that it was inspired by other industries that used similar production processes, which could be found in bakeries, mills, breweries and meat packing plants.
Before it existed
Before the change, workers assembled the Model T at stationary workstations, and the plant produced hundreds of cars a day. Assembling a car took 12.5 hours. When it was introduced in 1908 the Model T was priced at 850 dollars. It was the first automobile to be mass produced at the Highland Park factory.
How it spread
The moving assembly line was later implemented by other major car manufacturers, reshaping the way cars were made. By May 1927 the Model T was the best-selling car in the world, with over 15 million vehicles sold. At Highland Park itself the method was extended within weeks: after the chassis line of October, the rest of the car began moving on December 1, 1913.
What changed first
What had taken 12.5 hours was reduced to 93 minutes, and daily production rose from hundreds of cars to thousands. Mass production let Ford cut costs significantly. The Model T sold for 490 dollars by 1914 and 260 dollars by 1924. The Library of Congress describes the car as affordable and accessible to more middle-class buyers.
