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I can understand the demand side of the equation. That side of it is easily seen in board posts and at gun stores.

For the supply side, I haven't seen any real analysis of it or comment from companies beyond "we're making as much as we can".

Lead, copper, and brass are just commodities. I would't think ammunition manufacture would be a large enough percentage of all the lead, copper, and brass to strain the supply. You have powder and primers, but again, that wouldn't explain why global suppliers haven't stepped in.

And the supply, while sometimes not scarce, hasn't seemed normal since before the 2008 elections.

Risk, probably has something to do with it, but given the shelf life of the product, and the military use of 5.56, 7.62, and 9mm (the calibers in shortest supply) it would sell eventually, even after the "bubble" bursts.

From everything I'm reading, ammo makers are running at 100% capacity, 24/7. And yet the shelves remain pretty bare.

I understand the reasons for the demand side, but not the supply side of the equation. It seems weird that the supply side hasn't even begun to catch up. When you consider that supplies haven't been normal for probably 4-5 years (though better at some times than others) I would think established companies would have significantly added to capacity and/or new ones would have popped up and/or some enterprising companies/individuals would be partnering up with foreign makers to pull in supplies from outside America (the shortage isn't global, is it?).

Yes, the demand is high, but I don't even remember the last time I've seen a fully stocked ammo counter.