| The purpose of this research was to test the economic impact of the Just-in-Time (JIT) production technology on firm level cost/production functions in two manufacturing industries in Southern Ontario: the auto-parts supply industry and the electronics industry.;A field of study was conducted using a survey instrument, with the data collected at each site. Firms were aggregated by industry according to whether or not they were JIT users. The extent of use of JIT, as well as the firm's own estimates of any productivity improvements that resulted directly from its implementation were analyzed for the JIT firms in each industry.;Statistical estimates of the cost functions for the JIT firms in the auto-parts industry and in the electronics industry were generated using multivariate regression analysis. These estimates were compared to estimates of cost functions for the two groups of non-JIT users. Statistical differences between the JIT firms and the non-JIT firms were significant. This, matched with the survey data from JIT firms, implies JIT firms experience higher productivity levels than non JIT firms.;A great deal of interest in JIT has been generated in North America through the 80's, and although a large number of companies have already implemented JIT, there are many others who are just now initiating plans to begin using all, or part of the JIT production framework. An assessment of the economic impact of JIT is required to provide research support for the productivity improvement claims of JIT. |
