Final answer:
It is true that manufacturing processes tend to have longer response times compared to service processes due to factors like the need to build infrastructure and hire workers. Long-term planning facilitates larger expansions in the manufacturing sector, as evidenced by historical examples like the first integrated textile mill in New England.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that manufacturing processes usually have long response times compared to service processes is generally true. In manufacturing, scaling up production often involves significant lead times for building or expanding facilities, purchasing and installing machinery, and hiring and training new employees. On the contrary, service processes, which are less capital-intensive and rely more on human labor, can often adjust more quickly to changes in demand.
In the context of expanding production in the long term, producers on the supply side of markets find it easier to undertake expansion over several years than in the short run. This is because activities such as constructing new factories, hiring additional workers, and opening new retail outlets are more feasible with longer-term planning and implementation horizons.
For example, Francis Cabot Lowell did indeed build the first integrated textile mill in New England, demonstrating an expansion of manufacturing capability that was part of a broader market revolution bringing numerous socioeconomic changes to the United States.