As noted above, the diffusion of the electric motor throughout the factory increased the use of continuous-process methods and the assembly line and thus accelerated the trend toward mass production.
In addition, as early as the 1880s, manufacturers had begun to integrate forward into distribution; one noteworthy example was the meatpacking industry, in which firms purchased refrigerated rail cars that allowed shipment of beef from centralized slaughterhouses to branch houses that served local markets.