Alt causes to DIB risk- worker shortage and mineral bottlenecks

Michael E. O’Hanlon; Director of Research - Foreign Policy, Director - Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy

Alejandra Rocha; Senior Research Assistant - Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology

Strengthening America’s defense industrial base; Brookings; https://www.brookings.edu/articles/strengthening-americas-defense-industrial-base/

Yet not all is well. The defense industry faces a shortage of skilled workers needed to meet production demands. Artillery is simpler to produce than advanced modern weapons. Certain subcontractor bases are weak. Surge capacity is limited, and bottlenecks, sometimes hidden ones, could seriously constrict the nation’s ability to build lots more weapons quickly in a time of conflict. Physical infrastructure has degraded over time. The United States retains dependencies on certain commodities, raw materials, and intermediate goods that come from nations or regions where access may not be secure during conflict. In fact, from 2019 to 2022, imports accounted for over half of the U.S. apparent consumption for 49 nonfuel mineral commodities, with the United States being 100% import reliant for 15 of them. The figure below shows countries that the United States was over 50% import reliant on for nonfuel mineral commodities. China was the top supplier, providing 24 of these commodities.