Why are car industries and steel plants near great lakes?

Question

Why are car industries and steel plants near great lakes?

Answer 1

It started more than a century ago when Henry Ford built his plant there.  Other auto manufacturers liked Ford's assembly line methods and moved to Detroit.  Shipping on the  Great Lakes was a cheap way of moving iron ore from Minnesota to the steel factories that were near the coal fields in Pennsylvania.  Then the steel was shipped back to Detroit on the ore boats heading back to Minnesota.

Answer 2

water is a cheap source of power. plants use it for cooling, waste water, and to transport goods. most major cities grew because of waterways.