N.E. United States: manufacturing. The Northeast region of the United States has a historic connection with manufacturing. Once known as the rust belt, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Indiana, at one point, produced a majority of the country's steel and iron. Cities such as Pittsburgh, PA and Youngstown, OH quickly became centers of this industry due to their access to large, high quality coal and iron deposits, as well as transportation. Primarily due to the massive production of iron in this region, manufacturing centers began to move to major cities such as Detroit, MI. The automotive industry, as well as other heavy industry flourished with access to high quality U.S. steel Even after the crash of the U.S. steel industry, manufacturing has continued in this region. The automotive industry remains rooted in the Northeast; however, new industries such as medical and technological manufacturing continue to expand in this region