Title: Critical Manufacturing
Course: Critical Infrastructure: An Overview > Section: Course Content

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Critical Manufacturing

In the United States it is estimated that 11.7 million of the nation’s workforce are employed in manufacturing and United States manufacturers are responsible for 13% of the gross domestic product[1] [1]. The Sector Specific Agency (SSA) for the Critical Manufacturing Sector is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Some of the areas of manufacturing that are considered to be part of this sector of critical infrastructure are metal manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, manufacturing of electrical equipment, appliances, and components, manufacturing of transportation equipment, vehicles, aviation and aerospace products and parts manufacturing, and railroad rolling stock manufacturing [1].

Other Critical Infrastructure Sectors that interact with Critical Manufacturing include Energy, Commercial Facilities, Financial Services, Information Technology, and Transportation Systems.

Why is Critical Manufacturing Critical Infrastructure?

Critical manufacturing is important not only financially to the United States, but also in terms of meeting critical needs for keeping the nation running. “A direct attack on or disruption of certain elements of the manufacturing industry could disrupt essential functions at the national level and across multiple infrastructure sectors” [1].

Some Reasons Critical Manufacturing is So Important to the United States:

Meet Our Own Needs

When we manufacture the items we require to function as a country here at home, it keeps us from having to deal with delays, extra expenses, and political issues that can occur when importing goods. Things that are out of our control like the political climate in another country or even the exchange rate with them could affect our economy; minimizing the amount of goods we must import minimizes these [2].

Financial Resiliency

When we diversify our manufacturing, providing a variety of goods for ourselves as well as for export, it makes us more financially resilient.

Provide Jobs

Critical manufacturing provides jobs in manufacturing, but it also provides other jobs that support or interact with manufacturing. "For every one job created in manufacturing, at least two to three jobs are created to support the sector [3]". Off-shoot jobs can include those in the financial services sector, information technology, transportation, and other technology related fields like design or engineering.

Keep the United States Relevant

Keeping our critical manufacturing current, robust, resilient, and profitable also serves to keep the flow of progress, technology, invention, and innovation alive in our economy.

Regulation and Protection

The Department of Homeland Security plays a major role in working to keep this sector safe. DHS helps in identifying threats and implementing ways to mitigate those threats and helped to facilitate the creation of working committees and groups that bring together stakeholders (including those from the private sector) to work together on protection issues.

More About What Makes Up Critical Manufacturing

Metal Manufacturing

Raw materials are made into readily usable metal resources such as sheet metal, rod or bar stock, I-beams, and pipe. In the United States we have metal manufacturing in aluminum, steel, and iron.

Machinery Manufacturing

Machinery manufacturing is responsible for making engines, turbines, power transmission equipment, industrial controls, and more.

Electrical Equipment Manufacturing

Electrical equipment manufacturing would include electric motor production as well as manufacturing of generators, transformers, and other materials used in electrical power generation.

Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

Automobile, truck, heavy equipment, railroad rolling stock, and air transport vehicle manufacturing all fall under the heading of transportation equipment manufacturing [4].

[1] Gross domestic product – a country’s income minus foreign investments: the total value of all goods and services produced within a country in a year, minus the investments in other countries. [5]