Which company introduced the first moving assembly line for mass production in 1913?

Ford Motor Company introduced the first moving assembly line for mass production in 1913.

The breakthrough took place at Ford’s Highland Park plant in Michigan as the company refined production of the Model T. Instead of workers staying with one car while assembling many components, the vehicle moved past specialized workers, each performing a limited task. This sharply reduced build time and made high-volume automobile production practical.

Ford did not invent every idea behind the assembly line. Earlier manufacturers and industries had used interchangeable parts, stationary assembly lines, conveyors and specialized labor. Ford’s achievement was integrating these methods into a fast, continuously moving system for mass-producing a complete automobile.

The results were dramatic: chassis assembly time fell from many hours to 2 hours 40 minutes, eventually reaching about 1 hour 33 minutes. In 1914, Ford also introduced its famous five-dollar daily wage and shorter workday, partly to reduce employee turnover caused by demanding line work.