Industry Explanation and Tips!

[MoridinUK]

Hi all,

I'm new and looking for any of your tips on how to get Industry working for you, what to look for in good buys and when to buy. I'm also interested in how the goods move about without rails!

So far I got these awesome suggestion as a starter:

Welcome!

Hawk's suggestion of Oilcan's handbook is a great way to start. Of course, feel free to ask more questions after this no matter how simple they may be.

Here's a little summary:
All industries and resources that are producing a decent amount of cargo can be bought at around 10 times the cost of what they will make in one year. We look for industries that are cheaper than this (around 5 times the cost of what they will make in one year) and compete very well with rails especially in the second and third game years and can be safely bought with bonds even if they cost 13% interest per year (not the limit, just be careful going too much above this).

Except for the special case (this particular one applies to resources too) of cheap industries near the start of some games or those that the game randomly places on the map mid-game (all profit records are zero, so price is less), there are two options, (1.) build a new industry by placing it near (in a city normally by your station) or over the resources it needs (same map "cell", use the "G" key to toggle in-game) or (2.) buy an existing one that hasn't been performing well but will now that you are going to reliably supply it with your trains or you can see the situation developing naturally that in-coming resources and their placement will give a reliable supply over time (go into the map overviews to see where to find the resources an industry needs). Building a new industry means you get to choose the location but the cost is slightly higher, finding an existing one can be difficult and it may be more likely to suffer from competition over time due to a poorer location. In both cases you must also ensure that there will be a sufficient demand over time for the cargo the industry will produce. It is possible to haul away the cargo to a place of demand if you like, but the industry will probably make slightly less.

Location is the most important thing to learn about because it's important to build industries that will be steadily supplied and have sufficient demand for at least 5 years so they can re-pay their purchase price. There are subtleties in how to use location for your benefit, but the general principles can be seen by studying the interaction of resources with the existing industries (expensive) that are producing a decent amount of cargo on any map. Pay attention to the numbers that appear when you hover over the maps cells in the cargo map overviews. The higher the number, the more demand there currently is at that location. This number translates directly into how much money an industry will make, in addition the cheaper the resources that are in it's supply stack the more it will make. Remember that the numbers on the map are dynamic, to build an industry you need to select a location based not solely on this number, but you must also make sure that the current high demand will last. Do this by paying attention to the surrounding buildings, cities and geography (includes rivers) that should demand the cargo and let it travel to a new location with higher demand should you not have a rail connection there. After some trial and error you will understand how much demand a location will have consistently.

Resources such as farms don't need a supply, but still need a demand for the cargo they produce. They cannot be built by the player. Normally, building an industry will create a demand for a particular resource and it is possible to buy this resource while it is very cheap and about to make good money (may take awhile for price to rise). There is a special case for the newly seeded resources especially the farms. These are some of the most lucrative industries in the game, but constantly searching for them can be tedious. Here's a link for Wolverine's system to make finding them easier. viewtopic.php?p=2189#p2189.

So anyone else with any tips!

I believe auto consists only move freight when there is a profit. I once bought a cattle ranch not far from corn. I couldn't get any corn at that station to go to the cattle ranch because the cattle ranch was already getting corn from somewhere else! Very confused I was!

[Gumboots]

Buy cheap. Build where there are lots of cheap resources. Ship products to high demand areas. In a nutshell, that's it.

Industry is something you have to play with and observe a bit. It's not rocket science though, and you should be able to get a good grasp of it pretty quickly. Stuff moves from low demand areas to high demand areas, with or without rail. With rail it moves faster. Without rail it is slow, and tends to follow the terrain. IOW, it will naturally drift down valleys or around mountains if it can, just as cargo was moved in the days before rail. Think of how you would move the same stuff by barge or bullock cart and it'll make more sense.

Auto consists will only ship stuff if there is at least $2 profit per car load. If it's less than that and you want to force shipping, you need to use a custom consist and you need to be playing 1.06.

If there is a particular map you like and you want good industry tips for it to get yourself up to speed, let us know. Someone here has probably played it and already knows the usual dodges.

[MoridinUK]

:)..

Ok so another quick question, how does industry profit work? OR am I still simply over thinking it?

My question being does the industry make more if I haul it's produce to a high demand location, I know I make a tonne more on the shipping part of it, but does the industry also?

[Gumboots]

Yes. Hauling stuff away will gradually increase the price for said stuff at the point of origin. That means the industry profit will increase, but the rail profit will decrease (unless you find another higher demand point to haul to).

[MoridinUK]

Yes. Hauling stuff away will gradually increase the price for said stuff at the point of origin. That means the industry profit will increase, but the rail profit will decrease (unless you find another higher demand point to haul to).

So the industry gets paid when the goods leave the industry and start travelling whether via rail or foot/barge? Not when they arrive at a point where they are consumed?

[Gumboots]

The industry gets paid whatever the local price is. The extra profit from haulage is only paid to the railway itself, although obviously if the industry and the railway are part of the same company it's all good.

However, if you haul stuff away that means there is less of it where it is produced, so supply and demand will increase the local price. Once the local price rises, industry profits also rise.

[Hawk]

I just sticky's this as it could be beneficial in the future.

If there is a particular map you like and you want good industry tips for it to get yourself up to speed, let us know. Someone here has probably played it and already knows the usual dodges.

You'll find a lot of maps already discussed in either the RT3 Reviews forum or the RT3 Strategies forum.

[undertoad]

Hi all,

I believe auto consists only move freight when there is a profit. I once bought a cattle ranch not far from corn. I couldn't get any corn at that station to go to the cattle ranch because the cattle ranch was already getting corn from somewhere else! Very confused I was!

Hi Moridin and welcome!

Corn is an odd one. You'll see supply/demand icons (red triangle, green triangle) for it on the map, and a price gradient, like for any other commodity. So you're right in thing thinking that corn would go to a cattle ranch: it does.

But corn is odd in that it's not really necessary to livestock farms (Sheep farm, cattle ranch). It just gives them a boost in production if they can get hold of it. It's not like Cotton/Wool for a Textile Mill, or Livestock for a Meatpacking plant, where the factory can't do anything without the input.

So you were unlucky that you were working with Corn: don't let that make you think you've got things wrong. I can't remember any time I've made money from buying into Corn Farms, or from planning my network to carry it. Of course I have made money carrying it, but probably by accident. I'm not sure without looking, but I think the demand for Corn is pretty weak compared to that for e.g. Iron (Tool & Die before the cutoff date, Steel Mill after), Grain (Brewery) or Produce (Distillery). The factories will "scream" for what they need: that translates to a big price spike on the map. The spike can take a while to establish itself for a new factory, but it can still give you profit hauling stuff there, even if the factory is getting supply from elsewhere. Corn, in contrast, is a bit "meh". Farms like to have it, but they don't consume much per year (2 per year? Click on a farm to check), and don't pay a high price for it.

Since you mention Oilcan's handbook - one of my favourite tips from there is the "pirate the existing supply" technique. You find an existing factory (e.g. a Distillery), with a well-established flow of input (Produce in this case), but coming from far away. You place your own factory a bit upstream of the existing one in the flow of input goods. Your factory grabs all the goods, the existing factory gets none and goes bust! If you place your factory so that you can easily build rails to it to take away the finished goods, even better. Very satisfying .