Manufacturing was concentrated in two major industrial regions: Lisbon-Setúbal in the south-central region and Porto-Aveiro-Braga in the north. Together they accounted for about three-fourths of Portugal's net industrial output. The Lisbon area included such major industries as iron and steel ship building and repair oil refining, machinery, chemicals, cement, and electronics and food and beverages. Setúbal, about eighty kilometers to the southeast of Lisbon, also had a large shipyard and automobile assembly and machine industry plants, as well as cement, woodpulp, cork, and fish processing. Sines, located about 140 kilometers south of Lisbon, was the site of a major deepwater port and heavy industrial complex. Begun during the Caetano administration, Sines included an oil refinery, petrochemical plants, and a 1,200-megawatt coal-fired power plant.

Porto was primarily a center of light industry, including textiles, footwear, furniture, wine, and food processing. Porto was also the location of the nation's largest petroleum refinery the other was located at Lisbon. Portimão was a center for fishing. Aveiro specialized in woodpulp and other wood products but also produced footwear and machinery. Braga specialized in textiles and clothing, cutlery, furniture, and electronics. Covilha was also an active textiles area.

The two premier industrial regions offered the greatest concentrations of population, thereby stimulating market-oriented manufacturing operations. Furthermore, because of the dependence of modern industry on imports of raw materials, machinery, and fuel, the location of processing plants near the two major ports minimized their operating costs (see fig. 8).

Data as of January 1993