(FORTUNE Magazine) – A list of the world's 100 biggest industrial companies is a picture of the global economy -- and as this year's compilation shows, the picture is changing. The titans of 20th-century industry, motor vehicles and oil, are still dominant, but their fortunes are diverging. Of the carmakers that also appeared last year, nearly all advanced in the rankings. Of the oil refiners, almost every one declined. A couple of newer giants, computers and electronics, are strongly challenging both industries' preeminence. The companies were culled from the International 500 (beginning on page 290) and the FORTUNE 500 largest U.S. industrials, which appeared April 24. In past years this global group has comprised 50 companies. Now, for the first time, it has been expanded to 100 to reflect the growing importance of international business. Which nations dominate? America holds a commanding lead, with 39 entrants, followed by Japan with 15 and West Germany with 12. In all, 15 countries are represented, including India and Kuwait. But the group is more nationally diversified than these numbers suggest. For example, General Motors, while classified as American, includes huge subsidiaries that employ thousands locally in Canada, Germany, Britain, Spain, Belgium, Brazil, and Mexico. Last year was a splendid one for these global businesses. They included just a single money loser: Ruhrkohle, the West German coal mining company that slid into a $76 million hole. Companies that lost money in 1987 -- Texaco, Tenneco, and Nippon Steel -- inched into the black partly by downsizing. Texaco raised cash by selling its West German subsidiary for $1.2 billion. Tenneco followed the same strategy, auctioning its domestic oil division for $7.6 billion. Nippon Steel reduced its payroll by 1,500 employees. The top ten were a restless bunch. Only three appear in the same position as last year, including the leader, GM. Royal Dutch/Shell Group, No. 2 last year, switched places with Ford Motor, which rose from fourth on record sales. The world's two largest industrial companies now reside not only in the same country but in the same metropolitan area. But Detroit must bow to Tokyo as host to the most companies on the list (12). Paris and London follow with nine and seven, respectively. New York City has three. Big companies don't necessarily need big cities. Nestle is headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, (population: 16,139) and Unisys is in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania (population: 1,600).

While Asia's economic health gets lots of attention, this list clearly shows Europe's growing power. For example, West German chemical concerns all gained ground on world industry leader Du Pont (No. 19). Hoechst (No. 31) boosted sales 13%, overtaking Bayer at No. 33. Both trail BASF (No. 30), which increased sales 12%. Du Pont raised revenues only 7%. A merger of European giants created the world leader in industrial equipment: Sweden's Asea combined with Switzerland's Brown Boveri to create Asea Brown Boveri, which appears on the list at No. 45. Expanding the list to 100 has brought new industries. The beverage business is represented by PepsiCo at No. 70, though the company was helped by its food businesses. Rival Coca-Cola's revenues were $1.5 billion too low to make the list. Goodyear (No. 85) shows up as the world's leading producer of rubber products. Weyerhaeuser, at No. 92, ranks as the world's biggest forest products company. Only one company departed. AT&T, formerly No. 13, was reclassified and now tops the U.S. list of diversified service companies, with sales of $35 billion. Last year was a remarkable one for automakers. Toyota, Chrysler, Fiat, Nissan, Peugeot, and Honda all moved up, averaging a rise of four spots each. GM's sales topped $120 billion, a record and nearly $30 billion more than Ford's. But its profits were $4.9 billion compared with Ford's $5.3 billion. Petroleum refining, the other perennial industry at the top of the list, hasn't been having much luck since the dip in the price of crude oil. Although Exxon hung on to its No. 3 position, its competitors in the top ten -- Royal Dutch/Shell, Mobil, and British Petroleum -- all dropped. Dominating the fast-expanding computer and electronics industries, No. 5 IBM is again the world's most profitable corporation, with earnings last year of $5.8 billion. General Electric moved up three spots, to No. 7, with a 26% sales burst -- and look at how many other electronics manufacturers jumped up the list: Hitachi, Siemens, Matsushita Electric, Samsung, Toshiba, NEC, and Daewoo. No one expects these companies to eliminate the Exxons and Shells from the top ranks of world commerce. But for those who argue that the global economy is destined to be influenced more by information and less by natural resources, the new names among the world's top industrial companies provide strong support.

CHART: NOT AVAILABLE CAPTION: THE WORLD'S BIGGEST INDUSTRIAL CORPORATIONS