Deuce-deuce shortage noob question

[Gutpile66]

I understand the multiple reasons behind the national shortage of certain centerfire ammo. But I just can't get my head around the .22LR shortage.

Had a guy try to tell me today that the .22LR shortage is due to the fact that the factory mfg's only produce it once a year, over a short period of time. Then they concentrate on centerfire ammo the balance of the year.

I've worked in manufacturing in a different industry over the last 8 years. When demand picks up we hire more people and ramp up manufacturing to take advantage of the market share. By doing so we increase revenue by a large percentage. Therefore, it's hard for me to believe what this guy told me. I even explained this to him and he just shrugged it off. Maybe I'm wrong, but I simply reject his explanation.

Any ideas as to why the mfg's haven't responded to the massive national demand in order to make more money?

[HTLP]

Once they increase production to 24hrs a day 7 days a week the hurdle becomes setting up more machinery to create more volume. This new outlay of capital and subsequent upkeep costs on new equipment and extra space is not worth it if the demand is expected to slow back down.

[Enfield47]

It also may have to due with .22 rounds not being the more lucrative choice for ammo manufacturers right now. IIRC I've read somewhere that .22 is the least profitable for them so until the crisis stops it will probably remain in short supply. I just hope it's sometime soon and that the price comes back down to a reasonable level for it.

[CaliforniaLiberal]

It's because 10% of America's 100 million gun owners are in panic hoarding mode, running up credit card debt to snatch up every scrap of ammo, reloading components, and guns wherever they can be found.

It will get better.

Eventually.

[pennstater]

Yep.

[Capybara]

There is .22 out there, at well under .10 a round. You just have to have the time to devote to hunting it down and buying it, most working class people don't.

I feel sorry for new and casual shooters. Stores, for the most part, don't have it and if you are a newbie, you probably are clueless about Gunbot, etc.

[Gutpile66]

Just made a lunch ammo run at my local Wallyworld and picked up a bunch of Tula 7.62X39. They have lots of it at a real good price.

Employee told me there's a massive line starts at the ammo counter at 4:00AM. EVERY DAY. They bring chairs, food, etc. Said the primary demand is for .22LR.

Again, I'm still baffled by this. Why wouldn't the mfg's produce more tooling, equipment, hire more peeps, and even rent a new building to capitalize on this massive demand? Then when the market settles, which I'm not convinced is going to happen any time soon, they just back down production. And then when demand picks up again they'll have the basis to respond. There's just too much money (profits) left on the table for this to make any sense to those of us with any business sense.

[SonofWWIIDI]

It's because 10% of America's 100 million gun owners are in panic hoarding mode, running up credit card debt to snatch up every scrap of ammo, reloading components, and guns wherever they can be found.

It will get better.

Eventually.

^^^This!