Critical Manufacturing Sector Analysis

Critical Manufacturing Sector Overview The Critical Manufacturing Sector is one of the newest critical infrastructure sectors since it was just added to the list in 2008 due to the diverse amount of critical products that are produced within the sector (Department of Homeland Security, 2015). Many of the products that are produced within the Critical Manufacturing Sector not only support other critical infrastructure sectors, but they also contribute significantly to the overall national economy. Due to the wide range of different products that are manufactured within the sector, the Critical Manufacturing Sector has divided its products into four different categories (DHS, 2015). Those four categories are primary metals manufacturing; machinery
Moreover, globalization has increased the amount of threats and hazards that are faced by the Critical Manufacturing Sector (EnsembleIQ, 2018). Many key assets that the Critical Manufacturing Sector depends on are located in countries overseas, which requires the Critical Manufacturing Sector to also take into account the threats and hazards that exist in those parts of the world (DHS, 2015). Some of the main threats or hazards that the Critical Manufacturing Sector faces, include, but are not limited to, supply chain disruptions, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and cyberattacks, among others (DHS,
Raw materials are used to manufacture the hundreds of different products that are produced at the different facilities that make up the Critical Manufacturing Sector. However, new business practices to improve private companies’ efficiency have affected the steady distribution of raw material to the Critical Manufacturing Sector. Those new business practices have forced raw material suppliers to now only distribute enough amounts of raw materials to sustain normal operations so that suppliers can remain abreast within the competitive market (DHS, 2015). That represents a great threat to the Critical Manufacturing Sector because it may not have enough amounts of raw materials to continue its operations during an emergency or when there is a disruption and the distribution of raw materials is