The Industrial Revolution provided the European powers benefits in transportation and trade, eventually leading to colonization.
Colonization was always present during the industrial revolution since industrialization demanded a huge need for raw materials, like rubber, silk, metals,etc., which colonies often had in great amounts. Meanwhile, these same territories served as captive markets were further exchange took place.
The accumulation of goods obtained from the Industrial technologies than was coincidental with an increasing amount of trade to regions farther away (The India and China, principally). With the coming of Industrial changes in transportation, the train soon became the top way of mobilizing merchandise over huge areas. Europeans first tried to reach new routes for commerce in near surrounding regions like North Africa and later sought ever greater amounts of regions to continue imposing trade and at the same time slavery or colonization.