Final answer:
The missing step in the production sequence is Mass production, the period where large quantities of goods were produced using factory machinery and labor division.
Step-by-step explanation:
The missing step in the sequence 'Home production --> ??? --> Automated manufacturing' is Mass production. After home production, characterized by the making of goods at home during the early years of the Industrial Revolution, came the era of Mass production. This was a phase during which goods were produced in large quantities using machinery and division of labor in factory settings, which made goods more abundant and widely available. This phase was crucial in transitioning from the individual or small-scale production done at home or in cottage industries to the highly efficient, machinery-driven production of the Automated manufacturing era.