The ammo shortage...Is it getting better?

[festering]

The manufacturers are expanding factories and hiring more people. When they get caught up with demand they will have to raise prices to pay for it. Buy all you can now.

 

[MR2Aaron]

The manufacturers are expanding factories and hiring more people. When they get caught up with demand they will have to raise prices to pay for it. Buy all you can now.

Economics doesn't work that way. There is a large profit to be made right now because the price of this product is high, so manufacturing capacity is being added. Eventually, demand will fall, and thus so will the quantity demanded at the present price. When that happens, the price will come down, and those sellers that can't make a profit at the new price will simply leave the market (or reduce capacity, which can be thought of as fractional leaving of the market). We saw the reverse of this happen 8 months ago, and we're already starting to see it happen now.

It's just one data point, but Freedom Munitions appears to have lowered their price overnight by about 10%, presumably because they're no longer immediately selling out all their stock at 250% of last year's price.

Just be patient, things will get better.

 

[Acera]

The manufacturers are expanding factories and hiring more people. When they get caught up with demand they will have to raise prices to pay for it. Buy all you can now.

Yeah, I also disagree with this. Not supported by past events. Already seeing prices come down. An overabundance of ammo when production catches up will make them fall faster and ammoflippers will try to salvage some money from their investments by cutting their asking prices also.

(Just like happened with ARs. They went crazy before the Clinton Ban, got cheaper after it expired than they were before, went crazy on bho's first election, got cheaper after that settled out, went crazy after Sandy Hook, settling back down nicely now.)

Take these past 7 months as a warning! Don't not stock up when times are good again. This ammo shortage is a sign of things to come in the US. We had our first little experience with it 5 years ago.

 

[festering]

Prices never returned to pre shortage prices last time. If you think Walmart, Academy, Cabelas or Midway prices are going to be lower than they are now, 6 months. a year 2 or five years from now I doubt it.

 

[navyguy]

Prices never returned to pre shortage prices last time. If you think Walmart, Academy, Cabelas or Midway prices are going to be lower than they are now, 6 months. a year 2 or five years from now I doubt it.

That is very evident. The current Natchez catalog shows prices some 15 - 20% higher than 8 or 9 months ago... not that they have any in stock though. Meh, I refuse to be held captive by this crazy shit. I've taken to shooting more .22, which I enjoy quite a bit, and I've been able to find quite a bit of .22 ammo at reasonable prices. Mix in a few hundred 9mm or .45 a month and I can keep my skills up.

 

[F350-6]

The manufacturers are expanding factories and hiring more people. When they get caught up with demand they will have to raise prices to pay for it. Buy all you can now.

Unless they start banning imports, then even the new factories will have to compete with the current market. Too many factories and they will be forced to either lower prices or idle plants. If someone like Winchester were the only game in town things would be as you describe, but when you factor in competition, things change. Just look at how many businesses walmart put under because they couldn't be competitive. Why don't the airlines jack up their prices as soon as fuel goes up? Because the other guys don't. Some try it to be the leader, but if others don't follow, the price comes back down to stay inline with the current market. It's just the way things work (unless the government is regulating it).

 

[Texan183]

Ammo is ridiculous now in days.

 

[navyguy]

The manufacturers are expanding factories and hiring more people. When they get caught up with demand they will have to raise prices to pay for it. Buy all you can now.

That's quite not how it works. Manufacturing expands capacities to satisfy demand. As long as that demand continues, they reap the profits. Their facilities (brick and mortar) doesn't usually need to expand, merely their work force, number of shifts and maybe their production equipment. They may of course need bigger trucks to haul all of the cash to the bank.

 

[festering]

When the demand ends, they still have to pay for the expansion.

 

[equin]

When the demand ends, they still have to pay for the expansion.

Maybe so, but with no demand, supply will increase, and an increase in supply usually (although not always) correlates with a drop in price. Even so, the cost of expansion and the risk of diminishing demand is apparently one of the main reasons why ammo manufacturers and their suppliers are reluctant to invest in expansion in the first place. I'm no manufacturer, but given the overall increase in demand for firearms and ammo in the last decade, including before the shortage prompted by the Newtown massacre, I would've expanded long ago to reap the benefits of the generally increasing demand.

 

[java]

For the first time in many moons I got a flyer from CTD advertising ammo and they are taking advantage of the crunch, lake city ss109 $359.79 for 300 rds.
Cci blazer 22lr minimag hp 36 grain 100 rds $59.59

 

[country_boy]

100 rds of 22 for 60??

I bought cci 22lr 100 rds for 6 dollars.

 

[GunzNBeer]

Just went to wally world and academy today to see what the ammo supply looked like, and if it's any clear idea as to what the shortage is looking like or here, it is in worse shape out here than in Indiana. Ammo is for the most part available in Indiana.

 

[Southpaw]

Just went to wally world and academy today to see what the ammo supply looked like, and if it's any clear idea as to what the shortage is looking like or here, it is in worse shape out here than in Indiana. Ammo is for the most part available in Indiana.

It must be a Spring Thing!!
I see plenty of ammo, minus .22, at Academy in SA.


But if you buy in bulk and online, there are plenty of deals to be had.

 

[GunzNBeer]

Sorry, somehow this double posted itself almost an hour later. ????

 

[Sapper740]

For the first time in many moons I got a flyer from CDT advertising ammo and they are taking advantage of the crunch, lake city ss109 $359.79 for 300 rds.
Cci blazer 22lr minimag hp 36 grain 100 rds $59.59

ouch! I bought 550 rounds of .22 LR at Wally World for $26.95 two weeks ago.

 

[kusai]

For the first time in many moons I got a flyer from CDT advertising ammo and they are taking advantage of the crunch, lake city ss109 $359.79 for 300 rds.
Cci blazer 22lr minimag hp 36 grain 100 rds $59.59

Definitely on meth

Sent from the black hole

 

[java]

OOPS should be CTD as in cheaper than dirt.
Ammo .22 LR CCI Mini Mag 36 Grain Copper Plated HP 1260 fps 100 Round Box#

 

[ShootingTheBull]

I think they missed where the decimal point goes...

 

[F350-6]

If CTD no longer feels they can get a dollar a round for rimfire, I'll take that as a good sign that we'll be seeing more stock at other sources soon enough.