Suspension of Alliant Powder Orders

South Pender

South Pender

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This has just been posted by Powder Valley, a large US supplier of reloading supplies. It details a message they received from Vista Outdoors concerning the suspension of Alliant powders.

"FYI – we have just received the following message from Vista Outdoors (the parent company of Alliant Powders):"

“Due to the worldwide shortage of nitrocellulose, the Vista Outdoor supply agreement for the sale of Alliant Powder canisters has been suspended for an unknown period. At this time, we have no timeline for the fulfillment and will be canceling outstanding Alliant orders in our system.
Representatives will provide updates and coordinate new orders based on availability.”

"We have heard mixed messages from various powder suppliers about the availability of nitrocellulose, and therefore powder, over the past several months. This is one Manufacturer’s analysis of the situation. We are posting this so you can have all the information we have and draw whatever conclusions are right for you."

Alliant powders have been in short supply for some time, but now it appears that future shipments will be cancelled, at least for the foreseeable future. I guess it remains to be seen whether other powder suppliers will be forced to reduce their production as well.
 
legi0n said:
nitrocellulose is quite easy to make (there are dozens of videos on the topic)
I wonder what's the real reason?
Click to expand...

Can Joe-Blow Sixpack make commercial quantities learning off YT videos? I doubt it, and Alliant knows its core business is not attempting any more vertical integration.

Nitrocellulose is central to ammunition production, and the big boys are shooting a lot of it at each other.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
Can Joe-Blow Sixpack make commercial quantities learning off YT videos? I doubt it, and Alliant knows its core business is not attempting any more vertical integration.

Nitrocellulose is central to ammunition production, and the big boys are shooting a lot of it at each other.
Click to expand...

the videos show that it is really easy to make
having a shortage means there's no drive to make more
given that there are less powder manufacturers nowadays makes one wonder if the shortage is not "on purpose"
we all know monopolies don't care about their clients
 
legi0n said:
the videos show that it is really easy to make
having a shortage means there's no drive to make more
given that there are less powder manufacturers nowadays makes one wonder if the shortage is not "on purpose"
we all know monopolies don't care about their clients
Click to expand...



You right on all accords . but there are several wars going on and I think the US is building up their somewhat depleted stocks from what I have read. I went into a store looking for something was referred by 3 different young people where to find the item but none ever came along with me . too busy talking . don't try to figure it out .
 
legi0n said:
nitrocellulose is quite easy to make (there are dozens of videos on the topic)
I wonder what's the real reason?
Click to expand...

Making it to consistent high quality might be a different matter, especially to do so safely and in large quantities.
 
I guess I'll be searching harder for a replacement for Unique then. I only use it in my 6.5 Carcano with cast, so I either find something different to load with or switch to jacketed bullets of appropriate size (of which I have already, just haven't done any work ups yet)
 
How many manufacturers are using Alliant as an OE supplier for powder? If they are simply halting sales but the lines are still running, then they have contracts they need to fulfill.
 
The_Shmoo said:
How many manufacturers are using Alliant as an OE supplier for powder? If they are simply halting sales but the lines are still running, then they have contracts they need to fulfill.
Click to expand...

Probably none. Those manufacturers very likely deal directly. Hodgson, Alliant etc don't make powder. They buy it in massive quantities from specific plants around the world. Making massive amounts of nitrocellulose is not simple, nor is setting up another factory to make it on an industrial scale.
 
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Munitions manufacturing is a cyclical business with finite (and expensive) overhead with which to make it.
The only way they would invest in more overhead is if they know that this new capacity utilization will persist.
If they're not convinced, they just stop serving the less profitable market until the big money tapers off.
Civil consumers are the thin twigs on the money tree...
 
Most NC is coming out of Thailand, China or India. Not the best time to be expecting any favours there. Plenty of room for conspiracy theories here.
 
Desjard said:
Here comes "I got a powduh supply fo the rest of muh life n muh familys lives, you do you"
Click to expand...

Almost as annoying as the whining of idiots being shocked and surprised by another shortage of powder, even though shortages been regular occurances for most of the last 20 years.
 
jethunter said:
Almost as annoying as the whining of idiots being shocked and surprised by another shortage of powder, even though shortages been regular occurances for most of the last 20 years.
Click to expand...

If Trump is elected this fall as we hope/expect, then we can reasonably expect powder supplies and prices might normalize during the last 2-3 years of his term. If there is anyone left by then that still has mental capacity greater than a peanut, they should use that period to stock up on some powder and components.
 
I wonder how much impact the pending takeover of Vista Outdoors had to do with this announcement.

I had almost given up on getting more Unique, now I can finally slam the doors shut. HP-38/231 should do the job nicely.
 
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