I'm involved in a small business making 9mm and 5.56. We run a half dozen Camdex machines and average a few million rounds per month. Availability of components right now is tough and it's not what you know but who you know in order to keep a supply in the pipeline. The only way we've managed is we've prebought our primers for a year in advance with OEM suppliers who we have relationships with and are willing to hook us up with preferential service.
I can assure you that our retail prices follow our costs and there's no looney conspiracy to gouge among small businesses like us. The only gouging I've seen is where average Joes who invested in lots of ammo over the last few years are now selling and making a profit on their speculation. The prices I've seen on retailers shelves accurately reflect their costs as near as I can tell and in some cases I'm amazed that they are not asking for more money.
Interesting and thanks for posting. Would you say that as a manufacturer, component availability is tough because of the shutdowns (in addition to the demand) or do you think those supply channels have opened back up or close to back up to pre virus levels?
Your observation about current prices in big box and local gun stores is consistent with what I've seen too.
