Every port has a domestic and an export industrialization index value of between zero and 10.
The index is a measure of the level of industrialisation that is able to sevice the port. Export industry uses export materials available locally or convoyed in to create RPs that are then stored at the port. Domestic indutsry uses domestic materials available locally.
A higher industry value means not only more but more complex industry. The higher the level, the more the value that can be extracted from a given amount of materials.
The industry levels at your ports, together with the export and domestic materials indices (see setting the export materials index and (see setting the domestic materials index for more information), are used by the computer when it calculates the total value of your economy. The value of every possible convoy route between your ports is calculated, and a weighting is also applied based on how short the route is: shorter routes are worth more because more goods can be carried in a given amount of time.
Changing the industry levels can have a big affect on the value of a country's economy, and hence on the starting odds also.
As industry values are changed you should notice the odds change also (unless the change is small).
To change the industry level for the currently selected port, just select a new value in the combo box.
Note that although you can improve industry levels at selected ports during a game, this gets increasingly expensive as industry levels increase. It is relatively easy to establish small scale industry, but to create a fully sophisticated industrial base is very expensive (and time consuming) indeed. Giving a country an advantage with its industry at the start of the war represents a significant advantage (all else being equal).
Note also that it is most productive for industry levels to be highest at your home port, because this is where aircraft and troop unit production take place and most or all of your ship production also. Surplus RPs can be convoyed in to home port but this takes time and involves risk of course.
Click here to return to the help page detailing what other port parameters you can change.