Pete Brownell
Inside the industry, there’s this powder shortage discussion that we're having. How is that going to manifest itself long term?
As far as price, there's two things happening. There is a constraint on powder. So the core brands out there are going to get their powder allocation.
Some of the ones that rely upon excess product may not be around, or may not have enough powder to really blow it out the doors.
So there's, there's a constraint in powder. And it’s the raw good stuff, the nitrocellulose. Because it’s the same stuff that's going into the mortar rounds that are that are being sent and overseas.
So if it goes boom, it requires nitrocellulose. The conventional weapons require nitrocellulose. We need to refill our our stores and our military and also our partners, and that's eating up a lot of that excess, if not the primary powder out there.
There is a powder company coming online down in Oklahoma, but that's a three-year projection. So there's going to be this constraint for three years.
So the main companies, they have their powder allocation. But it may not be enough to really continue their growth strategies. So that's going to require a price increase. So we're expecting a price increase. We always have it.
We think it's going to be significant. Nitrocellulose has like tripled in price in a very short period of time. That's hard to digest for a factory, and some of those factories are public, and they're gonna, they're gonna pass that through all the way to the customer.
I don't want to cause panic…however, it’s the future I do think we’re facing. In 2019 and 2021, you couldn't get shotgun shells. You couldn't have a season, right?
Take this with a grain of salt…because I sell ammo, but I'm I'm putting that stuff I'd rather have a little more than I would use away - just in case. Because I hated not going to the range or reloading. If I'm reloading right now, I want to make sure I have enough primers, have enough enough powder, the core powder that's coming out of Hodgdon, and in the IMR, of course, IMR powders all going to Israel right now.
So there are constraints out there. It’s better to have a little extra than to have a lot less on your shelf. Y I'd be looking at that stuff right now,