Can this retard please ask you to point them out?
Let us assume ammo is being produced at a rate of X, sufficient to keep up with demand but not exceed it greatly and thereby product a glut, as standard market economics theory would provide for any product.
Then there is a widespread perception that ammo may become less available or unavailable for political reasons, and many, many millions of gunowners respond by “stocking up.”
This results in the demand no longer being roughly equivalent to X, but instead reaching 1.2X, 1.5X or even 2X or more. ((No idea about the actual numbers.)
Any time demand for a product soars, there is a lag before production can expand to meet that demand. In theory, you can take a factory that ran 40 hours a week and run it 24/7, but there’s still a considerable lag time to train new workers, managers, etc. Building new factories or installing additional machinery has an even greater lag time.
And, of course, smart manufacturers don’t want to spend large amounts of capital to expand production, and its associated overhead, just in time to begin additional production just as demand eventually and inevitably drops back off.
This exact situation created a real problem in my line of work back about 10 years ago. 5 major hurricanes hit the US. A major building boom was already in progress. Drywall factories were already operating 24/7 in US and Canada. Demand greatly exceeded supply, so of course drywall immediately became both much more expensive and much harder to get. If I remember correctly, and I may not, drywall sold for around $8 a sheet before the hurricanes, but went to $18 and more after, when you could even get it.
So people began looking for it wherever it could be found, and began importing drywall from China. No big deal, really, except that it was eventually found some of this drywall was contaminated with sulfur and created toxic sulfur gas conditions in the home.
Anyway, I’m really unclear why gunowners seem to assume there must be a great conspiracy involved to explain what seems to be a classic case of market economics. When demand expands faster than supply can increase, price goes up and availability goes down. And one of the very best ways to drive demand up is for people to stop buying for present consumption and instead “stock up” for future presumed un availability.
Please explain why this isn’t a logical explanation for observed conditions. Thanks.
That is a lot of words with no explanation as to what caused the original ammo shortage scare.
The drywall scare has a valid cause, the ammo scare doesn’t.
BTW, a short, concise post has a much better chance of being read by busy people than a ten paragraph screed.
Does the retard understand now?
An article yesterday interviewed some ammo plant managers. Estimated cost for a new factory is $1 billion. That astounded me as you see that sort of number for a new semiconductor fab, refinery, power plant, etc. You can see why mfgrs are reluctant to make that sort of investment if this is a panic-driven run which will subside. Of course firearm background checks doubled from 2006 to 2012 (8M to 16M) so there is obviously a lot more demand. It must be tough for mfgrs to separate “real” from “panic” demand.
Your explanation is dead on. I’ve followed this closely and even had the opportunity to tour the Hornady plant in Grand Island, Ne (they run 24/7) and have talked with and read interviews with other ammo execs.
The thing about Walmart is that they DO have shipments of .22LR’s coming in. You just have to get there early in the a.m. so when it goes on sale at 7 a.m. you can get your 3 boxes. Yes most of the guys in line seem to resell what they get (I don’t, mine is/was for personal use and I have enough)but there nothing illegal about reselling it.
Don’t like it? Then get there earlier in line than they do. There are a # of apps that let you know what and when a particular WM is getting in stock.