Any signs of the shortage easing up?

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jumpingjupiter

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Looks like I picked the wrong time to get interested in shooting. I have done some searching on the net and found articles going back to Jan/Feb of people complaining about the shortage.

I'm very surprised that the major ammo factories haven't ramped up production to meet demand even almost a year after the shortages were noticed. An increase in production should have been noticed in N. America by now. As a matter of fact I would have thought that the market would be awash in bullets.

Any one noticed supply is coming back into step with demand?
 
The ammunition and component manufacturers are running at their maximum capacity.
 
I guess it all depends what your looking for.

A couple stores I go to around Toronto haven't had any 9mm in stock for quite some time.
 
rollie100 said:
i thought they were only making bullets, are they thinking of making primers too?.
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No idea about primers. I know they were having a hell of a time getting bullets out of the US (shortage). They have started the manufacture their own bullets for their ammo line.
http://www.canadianbdx.com/
 
for the first time since jan of this year the shelf at wallmart is full again but with prices 50% higher then same time last year
 
The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US publishes a monthly producer price index (PPI). The BLS ID for Small Arms Ammunition is 151302. In Jan-00, it had a value of 145 and by Oct-09 was 250.0, essentially 72% higher. In Dec-04, it started to increase to 162 (12%), then climbed to 188.3 (30%) in Jun-07 and then spiked to 246.4 (70%) by Jan-08.

The BLS ID for Components for Small Arms Ammunition is 151303 and it trends like ammunition, just a bit slower. So Jan-00 it was 140.6, and stayed stable to Dec-04 when it was 142.1 (1.1% - not even inflation over this 5-year timeline). April-06 it is 154.7 (10%), then 170.9 (22%) by the end of the year in Dec-06. Oct-07 saw 183.7 (31%), then Jan-08 saw 198.7 (41%). The Oct-09 figures are 205.6 (46%).

So ... in short, there is a small drop from the high in the PPI from a year ago, but the trend is looking pretty stable for the last 18 months. I'm not optimistic that the prices will be dropping anytime soon, even if stores are restocking. That might be a few more months down the road.
 
jumpingjupiter said:
Looks like I picked the wrong time to get interested in shooting. I have done some searching on the net and found articles going back to Jan/Feb...
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A Google search of "ammunition shortage" should show articles going back to 2005. The election of Obama turned it from a shortage into a crisis, but the fact is that there has been no slack in the ammo production chain for years.
 
BattleRife said:
A Google search of "ammunition shortage" should show articles going back to 2005. The election of Obama turned it from a shortage into a crisis, but the fact is that there has been no slack in the ammo production chain for years.
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Plus, figure Canada represents, I would guess single digit percentages in terms of the American manufacturers total ammo sales.

Naturally, they will look after their American market first.
 
I checked out Canadian BDX's web site. It would be great to see them get off the ground and become a player.

So which of the sub components is the sticking point in the manufacture of ammo? Bullet, primer, case, powder? Or does it go deeper than that... lack of reasonably priced metals to produce the sub components?
 
soulchaser said:
If I ever hit the lottery, I would certainly investigate the start-up cost of both.
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It has been discussed before. Your best bet would be to set up an operation offshore, and then import to Canada.

The Federal regulations, taxes and labour laws will kill off any startup here.
 
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