Also from the article:
Kidder also attributed the cutbacks to recent reductions in U.S. military actions.
This insinuates that demand is down, when there are real shortages on the streets. Since he's being disingenuous on the last part, a rational person might question the rest, but hey, that's just me
Because demand increasing by more than 500% couldn’t possibly explain shortages right?
Lake City is a government owned, contractor-operated facility and you don’t find LCAAP ammo on the shelf at Walmart. It is by design a government supplier. LC ammo that I have purchased has all been surplus.
In short, you aren’t seeing empty shelves due to anyting LCAAP is doing or not doing. And yes, I do believe that $400 million in automation would lead to worker layoffs. Sometimes a bridge is just a bridge.
Private manufacturers, large and small, are making more ammo than they ever have. Some if not all are worried about investing too much to increase capacity, because they are looking to a backside drop on this curve, where prices come down and every buyer is setting on a 10 years supply of ammo. Like all bubbles, you could see a rush to the bottom, as middlemen holding expensive inventory try to dump it as fast as possible to minimize losses. Also, if prices drop, everyone currently sitting on backorders will start cancelling their orders.
I saw this coming and bought a stockpile before prices jumped. I’m now waiting for the downside (if one comes) and then I might start adding to my storage again.