Abstract:

A supply network is an important carrier for the spatial flow of industrial elements, and its structure and evolution can reflect the spatial clustering characteristics of related industries. In this study, we used thermal analysis, network analysis, and other methods to understand and analyze China’s automobile parts supply network at the national and regional levels in 2009, 2014, and 2019; in addition, we explored the evolution of spatiotemporal pattern characteristics of the network’s structure. The study found that: ① Automobile parts companies are primarily distributed across the eastern part of China, followed by the central and western regions. The companies form six clusters centered on the Yangtze River Delta region, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Northeast region, Pearl River Delta region, Central China region, and Chengdu-Chongqing region. ② The density of the network continues to increase. In 2019, the network density reached 0.5017, showing strong connectivity. Changchun had the highest extroversion in 2009, and Wuhan had the highest in 2014 and 2019. Shanghai has always maintained the highest introversion and continues to increase. More than 50% of the top ten cities are located in the Yangtze River Delta, and the remaining cities are located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Northeast, Chengdu-Chongqing, and Central China regions. In addition, the automobile parts supply network has obvious hierarchical characteristics. The first-level links included Shanghai-Changchun in 2009, Shanghai-Changchun and Shiyan-Wuhan in 2014, and Shanghai-Changchun and Shanghai-Wuhan in 2019. ③ If we analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of the supply network of China’s six major clusters with OEMs and automobile parts factories as nodes, we find that the Northeast region forms a vehicle-parts concentric inward supply network structure, the Yangtze River Delta and Chengdu-Chongqing regions form vehicle-parts concentric outbound supply network structures, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Pearl River Delta regions form vehicle-parts eccentric outbound supply network structures, and Central China forms a vehicle-parts eccentric inward supply network structure.

Key words: automobile parts, supply network, spatiotemporal pattern, evolution, agglomeration area