L'impact de la production modulaire sur l'approfondissement de la Division Internationale des Processus Productifs (DIPP)

The development of the modular production suggests to reconsider the issue of the international production process fragmentation. In this article, we examine the mechanisms who consider that modularity is a key determinant of the fragmentation of production and, thus, a key determinant of increasing trade of intermediate goods. We consider the two forms of modularity analyzed in the literature: the pure modularity and the CoPS (Complex Product Sytems). We show that in the pure modular industries, the centrifugal forces are dominant. So, the fragmentation can sharply increase. In the non-pure modular industries, the centripetal forces are dominant and the fragmentation is a more complex process. Some segments of production can be delocalized; others imply a close geographical proximity.