Most of the shooters who like to complain about companies not producing all the stuff they used to find on store shelves should take a look in the mirror. They'll find the main culprit looking back.
John,
You certainly have far more access to far more sources of information than I, but the cause of the problem might be more multi-faceted than your note above suggests.
In speaking with sales reps at Powder Valley, Midway, and Graf's over the last few years, they all say that while they have abnormally high numbers of orders in recent years, they are not receiving product to fill orders. One rep a couple of years ago at Powder Valley noted that they were actually shipping far fewer powder orders than they had just a few years beforehand and their actual number of completed transactions for powder was down due to the inability to fill orders. That was a couple of years ago, maybe it is better now.
I've read a few times that with respect to powder coming from ADI, the US and New Zealand imposed new transportation regulations, which restricted (i.e. reduced) the movement of powder by sea compared to prior practices. That is just one example of one cause other than the man in the mirror.
Also, is it not coincidental that just before hunting season/elections, all of the sudden powder and ammo again appeared on shelves?
Additionally as part of the problem, as part of the military base downsizing policies over the last decades, which began decades ago, some government run ammo plants that produced ammo, powder and powder related products exclusively for the military were shut down in order to "privatize" production. I know of one very large plant in East Texas that was shut down in the early 1990's, which had produced ammo and other powder related products such as solid rocket fuel since WW2. I believe there was another similar plant in Alabama or somewhere in the South that produced powder and related products exclusively for the military that was shut. Thus, production capacity to fill government orders decreased, just before a major war effort ramped up.
That last point is one that seems to be lost or forgotten - we have been in a major war effort for over a decade now. The coverage on the evening news now is a fraction of what I remember from watching Walter Cronkite report every night on the Vietnam war. Today, watching TV at night or listening to the news, it is easy to not notice that there are 10's of 1,000's of men and women fighting, and we as a country are at war. That we can even buy ammo and reloading components in the midst of a war would amaze our parents who lived with food rationing during WW2.
fwiw for consideration and discussion.
One silver lining in this ongoing shortage, I was "forced" to try IMR and Accurate powders and some other powders such as the spherical/ball powders for the first time in a long time. In doing so, I found there are some nice products and I'll keep using them even when my prior favorites are available again. The shortage actually has made me willing to try lots of alternatives, and as a result, I've developed a broader base of reloading knowledge. So, there is one modest positive.
