Just thought I would share this with everyone because it just came up and I like keeping you in the loop for things going on. I’m not kidding when I say raise your prices on whatever ammo you have. You can always drop it if it’s too high and not selling. Vista Outdoors just reported a $1 Billion backlog on ammo alone. And that is just for companies they own like Federal, CCI, and newly added Remington, etc. it will easily be another year worth of this ammo shortage. You can just about sell a box of 9mm FMJ for $60/box. It may not feel right, but the only way to fight the demand is to react to the lack of supply and raise prices to compensate. I thought I had a relatively good understanding of how bad the ammo crisis was, until I saw this.
Not trying to fear monger or anything, I’m sure after the election results the manufacturers are obviously going to be running 24/7/365, adding staff and machines where they can and trying to secure new supply chains for raw materials. But then again, all the manufacturers are going to be fighting over the same finite amounts of lead, mercury, powder, brass, and copper as they become available to them and are produced. We are looking at a long time on this
According to Fox Business
Big-name shooting sports company Vista Outdoor Inc. reported “over a year’s worth” of backlogged ammunition orders worth more than $1 billion, an official said recently.
Vista was reporting its second-quarter earnings when CEO Chris Metz detailed what announced the backlog, which he called “unprecedented” for the company.
“We currently have over a year’s worth of orders for ammunition in excess of $1 billion,” Metz said during the Nov. 5 call. “With demand far outstripping supply and inventory levels in the channel at all-time lows, we see strong demand continuing, and this metric informs our viewpoint of what a recovery or normalization could look like.”
He added that he was providing the additional context “to convey an underlying strength and strong foundational element to our business.”
In August, FOX Business reported that ammo was hard to come by after the number of gun purchases soared amid civil unrest and political concerns, among other reasons.
An estimated 1.9 million firearms were sold in October this year, a 65% spike from the same month in 2019, according to data provided by Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting (SAAF).
SAAF Chief Economist Jurgen Brauer said in a press release at the time that an estimated 18.6 million firearms had been sold so far this year, as 2020 “continues on its record firearms sales pace.”
Vista successfully bid $81.4 million to acquire Remington Arms’ ammunition and accessories businesses, its Arkansas manufacturing facility and the brand’s intellectual property.
In addition to its Remington acquisition, Metz attributed the quarter’s improved revenue to several factors, including the surge in hunting as people seek outlets amid the pandemic; the skyrocketing number of first-time gun buyers; and the increased diversity among firearms purchasers – “in part inspired by safety and personal protection,” he said.
“We’ve thrived as we watched the economy go up and down,” Metz said. “Politics permeate even further into everyday life.”
Headquartered in Minnesota, Vista’s sales were up by 29% year-over-year at $575 million, while gross profit had surged 78% to $162 million, Metz said during the call.