Why is there a shortage of ammo? This is the question occupying every gun owner’s mind for the last two years. American gun owners are frustrated with the shortage of ammunition gripping the American ammunition market. Is it an artificial shortage? Is there a conspiracy to prevent people from exercising their 2nd Amendment rights? Is there an end to this shortage in sight? What is the gun owning public to expect in 2022 and beyond? These are the questions we’ll try to answer in this article.
What Is Causing An Shortage of Ammo in the US?
It’s normal for consumer goods to experience periods of shortage or surplus. It’s how the market works. The ammunition market is no different. There have been ammo shortages in the past, for example, in 2008 after the democrats won the presidential elections. But those shortages had been short lived. This time around there is a combination of multiple factors that have caused a huge shortage that is yet to be overcome. Let’s take a look at these factors.
The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the demand and supply of a lot of goods. Remember when people were panic buying toilet paper? Well, people also bought ammo in bulk, and soon there was little to no ammo left in gun supply stores. Many people also started buying more guns out of fear caused by uncertainty. These new buyers feared civil unrest and a rise in crime rates due to record unemployment.
The pandemic also brought on the COVID recession with the production of goods dropping significantly. Ammunition production also dropped due to government mandated shutdowns and restrictions.
Another way the pandemic affected the situation is the disruption of the international supply chain for retail ammunition. In mid-2020 ammo, imports dropped by 34% compared to the previous year. The pandemic brought ammo production to a halt in Europe where most of US ammo imports are made.
Record High Gun Purchases in the US
More people bought guns in 2020 and 2021 than ever before. Every person buying a gun has to undergo a background check according to Federal Law. Data from FBI background checks indicate over 11 million more checks or gun purchases in 2020 than the previous year. The number of checks remained high for 2021.
Many of these people are first time gun owners. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), 8.4 million people bought a gun for the first time in 2020, and over four million in the first quarter of 2021. As more people own guns, the demand for ammunition also rises.
Shortage of Raw Material
The ammo manufacturers are also experiencing a shortage of raw materials which includes copper, gun powder, and primer. Copper is needed to make the bullet shells and it has become increasingly difficult to obtain. Ammunition manufacturers have to compete with electric vehicle manufacturers and the U.S. Mint for this metal.
Import Restrictions on Ammunition
The government has put in place restrictions on the import of ammunition. There are political sanctions that limit the import of Russian goods including ammunition. Similarly, there are restrictions on importing guns and ammunition from China and many other countries. This means that the burden of meeting the ammo demand falls mostly on US manufacturers.
Remington Bankruptcy
Remington had been a top manufacturer of guns and ammunition in America. However, in 2018, a hundred years after its inception, Remington filed for bankruptcy. This situation naturally led to the loss of investors and a drop in revenue. The company could no longer continue to meet ammo production targets. Other companies rushed to fulfill the gap in ammo production but struggled to meet the demand. In October 2020 Vista Outdoor acquired Remington and started to produce ammunition again.
How the Political Climate Created A Rise in Ammo Demand
The political climate over the past two to three years has been such that it has created a massive rise in gun ownership and a huge demand for ammunition. The year 2020 brought about the COVID-19 pandemic. The government’s handling of the situation was less than ideal and millions of people lost their lives and millions more lost their livelihoods. The restrictions and shutdowns further created an environment of uncertainty and combined with huge unemployment rates it created fear and panic among the public. People started buying guns and ammunition in bulk.
Later in 2020, the Black Lives Matter protests broke out after the murder of George Floyd. This period in the year also caused a rise in gun purchases. This time marginalized communities were the top buyers.
The year 2021 brought the presidential elections and the political climate again became highly charged and people were divided across political lines. Moreover, there’s a trend of rise in gun purchases after the Democratic win as republican voters fear tighter gun control laws. The same was the case when Joe Biden was elected as president.
In the year 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine created political turmoil and unrest in Europe. The US imposed sanctions on Russia and halted the import of ammunition.
All these political events have combined to result in a high demand for ammunition and a low supply. The US ammo manufacturers are struggling to meet this unprecedented rise in demand.
Balancing Demand and Supply
According to the NSSF estimates the number of new gun owners in the US has increased to over 62 million. If everyone bought 50 rounds of ammo for their new guns it would amount to 420 million rounds. Before the pandemic, 12 billion rounds of ammunition were sold on an annual basis. The post-pandemic market demands 14 billion rounds of ammo.
The ammo producers are making more ammunition than ever before but considering the massive demand they are struggling to satisfy American gun owners. Meeting this demand is difficult because it would cost the producers to expand production and obtain more raw materials which are costly.
Why Is Ammo So Expensive 2022
If you find yourself worrying over ammo price trends, you’re not alone. The second most important question for gun owners in America if they do manage to find ammunition is “why is ammo so expensive in 2022?”
The shortage of ammo has resulted in many gun manufacturers experiencing a rise in their stock prices. On the other hand, gun owners are having to pay more for ammunition.
It is the rule of the market that when demand exceeds supply, manufacturers increase their prices. It is therefore no wonder then that Remington has increased their ammunition prices several times over the past two years.
So consumers are not only having to face a shortage of ammo but also sky-high prices when they do come across the ammunition they need.
Will ammo prices go down in 2022? Nobody can say for certain. While it is true that manufacturers are boosting production and the political climate is looking to be relatively stable in the coming year, no one can say for certain if the prices will go down to the pre-COVID levels. And just like so many other things in life, we might as well have to accept that this is the new normal for ammo as well.
When Will The Shortage of Ammo End?
The next logical question to ask is “When will the ammo shortage come to an end?” We have no magic globe to look into and find the answer to this question. We would like to hope the ammo crisis will end soon but the majority of ammo dealers expect the crisis to continue into early 2023. No one can say when import restrictions will be lifted or when the raw material shortage will end. The wise thing to do for gun owners is to conserve their bullets. Also Read: Where To Buy Cardboard Ammo Boxes
Conclusion
The current shortage of ammunition in America began in 2020 and there is no end in sight to it yet. A number of conditions combined to create massive gun buying that put huge pressure on demand. Import restrictions, raw material shortages, and bulk buying also contributed to the shortage of ammo. The ammo shortage has resulted in a sharp price hike for ammunition.
