Exiger Research Identifies 83K Companies Impacted by Hurricane Milton

Most vulnerable sectors include pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agriculture, defense and aerospace

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Exiger, the market-leading supply chain and third-party risk AI company, today released proprietary research generated by its AI platform 1Exiger that forecasts the sectors most likely to be impacted by Hurricane Milton’s destructive path earlier this week. Pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agriculture, defense and aerospace are expected to be hardest hit.

Exiger is working with customers across the private and public sector to advise and model how organizations can best respond to the aftermath and limit the effect on their supply chains. The company’s AI-native technology identified over 50,000 individual companies directly impacted by Hurricane Milton and another 33,000 indirectly impacted.

Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices:

Pharmaceutical products and medical devices represent a high volume of shipped goods out of Tampa. Short-term facility closures could worsen constraints that the industry is already facing from Helene, including a national IV fluid shortage. Medical supplier Baxter International Inc., for example, had to temporarily shut down its production facility in North Carolina due to flooding from Helene. That plant is the largest U.S. manufacturer of IV fluids and peritoneal dialysis solutions; Baxter supplies 60% of the country’s IV fluid bags.

Per Exiger’s analysis of U.S. Government contracts data, 20% of prime awardees that received awards performed in Milton “warning” and “watch” zones are categorized as “Medical, Dental, and Hospital Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers.” Damage incurred from this week’s hurricane could impact the supply of medical goods under these contracts and exacerbate the IV-fluid shortage.

Defense & Aerospace

Over 12,000 U.S. government contracts performed in Tampa Bay area counties are awarded to companies for aircraft- or missile-related goods and services. Specific aircraft award product-and-service descriptions include airframe structural components; aircraft accessories & components; and aircraft hydraulics, vacuum, & de-icing systems.

There are at least four major U.S. defense contractors that have manufacturing facilities in the Tampa Bay area. The defense contractors operating in and around Tampa produce over 8,400 parts, with the most affected categories including hardware & abrasives, electrical & electronic equipment components, and aerospace craft & structural components. Of the 8,400 parts, 245 are sole-sourced — 48 of which are categorized as medical & dental equipment.

Agriculture

Fertilizers are a major commodity shipped from the Port of Tampa, representing a principal export by total value. In particular, the Tampa Bay area is an important source of fertilizer derived from phosphate. Although fertilizer prices have generally fallen since 2022, any resulting shortage could have a knock-on effect for food prices.

Exiger continues to monitor vulnerable supply chains and will be working closely with customers to mitigate the compounding effects of Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene.

For more information on Exiger’s analysis, visit https://www.exiger.com/perspectives/hurricane-milton-threatens-supply-of-key-industry-inputs/.

About Exiger
Exiger is revolutionizing the way corporations, government agencies and banks navigate risk and compliance in their third-parties, supply chains and customers through its software and tech-enabled solutions. Exiger’s mission is to make the world a safer and more transparent place to succeed. Empowering its 550 customers across the globe, including 150 in the Fortune 500 and over 55 organizations across the Defense Industrial Base and government agencies, with award-winning AI technology, Exiger leads the way in ESG, cyber, financial crime, third-party and supply chain management and recently achieved FedRAMP^® Moderate Authorization. Named one of Fast Company’s 2023 ‘Brands That Matter’ and recipient of the Third Party Risk Association’s 2024 Innovator Award, Exiger’s work has been recognized by 50+ AI, RegTech and Supply Chain partner awards. Learn more at Exiger.com and follow Exiger on LinkedIn.

For more information, please contact:
Kody Gurfein

Chief Marketing Officer for Exiger

1.914.393.0398

[email protected]

SOURCE Exiger