I have been doing some study (informal) of the ammo prices. Specifically, I have been speaking with people who own the companies (those who are willing to take time to talk) who buy the bulk ammo, clean, resize and in some cases prime it for bulk sale.
Apparently the government has turned the sale of its brass to a private company. That auctioning company is so eager to sell the brass, copper and lead to smelters in Japan and China, that they are not even attempting to sell the brass, copper and lead as pieces for reload to wholesalers of bulk brass, they are crushing the brass and copper into massive bails, and selling those bails to Japan and China for $4.00 per pound. This time a bit over a year ago it was running about $1.00 per pound! This time a year ago she sold lead for 5 cents per pound. She (the owner) now sells it for nearly $1.00 per pound (untreated).
Ergo, these wholesale, bulk reloadable brass companies can seldom get brass, bullets, etc. The company's owner told me that it has NOTHING, NOTHING to do with war!! It has to do with selling the product fast...Japan and China are buying sight-unseen, even before it gets into the compactor.
She maintains that this same fact is driving up the price of all ammunition...bulk and factory. She says that gas prices are not the problem. She says, "The single problem is that Japan and China are buying up everything available before our businesses ever even get a chance to bid".
So, what have others been told?
Doc2005