5 year spot price trend for Lead

[d_striker]

Interesting. What the heck was going on Oct '07?

http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/base/spot-lead-5y-Large.gif

[AZ-Stew]

If I recall, there was low production and high Chinese buying.

Regards,

Stew

[deltaenterprizes]

I think metals across the board were going out of sight in 07.

[bohokii]

recycling helps but there is lead lost in landfill electronics

i want to blame the spike on china expansion they recycle batteries but needed a bunch of new batteries for cars now that they have their supply up recycling now will keep it fairly stable untill there is another big expansion

[randyrat]

Lead is up($1.07/lb) and copper($3/lb) is up....looks like casting/reloading is going to be more and more appealing.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

It would seem logical that lead prices drop, since cars/trucks are no longer wearing lead alloy wheel weights.

Rich

[ReloaderFred]

In 2007, both China and India were in the midst of a huge campaign to run electrical lines to as much of their respective countries as possible. They were sucking the world dry of copper during this time.

At the same time, two lead smelters in the U.S. shut down, and China basically took over the battery manufacturing from the rest of the world. They went from a lead producer, to a lead importer in a very short time period.

Added to that is the fact that California (known as Commiefornia around here) started a big campaign against lead, scaring manufacturers and others. Some scrap yards stopped handling lead entirely, even those outside Calif.

It was the "perfect storm" of rising lead prices, and many users were caught flat footed. They didn't have large stocks on hand, and were ordering as they needed the base materials. That's why the cost of commercial bullets went so high so fast.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Rocky Raab]

I brought this up at the 2008 SHOT Show, and one astute rep for a bullet company cocked one eyebrow and asked me, "Can you think of any countries that might need lead to shield, oh maybe a reactor or three?"

Ahhhh, I thought to myself.

[chris in va]

Add to the mix all the speculators jacking up the metals market like they did with oil.

[rickster]

FWIW Very little lead is used for reactor shielding. Concrete is the material of choice.

[dualsport]

I can't help but think the shooting industry in general has exploited every excuse possible to jack up their prices. What is the actual value of the raw materials needed to make a $30 box of ammo? I know they have other expenses, but still..Look at the cost of 1,000 American 5.56FMJ compared to 1,000 9mm fmj. The 9mm is cheaper but uses more raw material. Something stinks.

[d_striker]

I can't help but think the shooting industry in general has exploited every excuse possible to jack up their prices. What is the actual value of the raw materials needed to make a $30 box of ammo? I know they have other expenses, but still..Look at the cost of 1,000 American 5.56FMJ compared to 1,000 9mm fmj. The 9mm is cheaper but uses more raw material. Something stinks.

Actually, .223 uses way more powder than 9mm. I use about $.14 worth of powder in .223 and only $.03 worth of powder for 9mm.

[MT Gianni]

I can't help but think the shooting industry in general has exploited every excuse possible to jack up their prices. What is the actual value of the raw materials needed to make a $30 box of ammo? I know they have other expenses, but still..Look at the cost of 1,000 American 5.56FMJ compared to 1,000 9mm fmj. The 9mm is cheaper but uses more raw material. Something stinks.

I suspect that tooling and labor is by far a greater expense than materiels. When materiel costs double and triple it must go somewhere.

[lwknight]

Rotometals just raised the truckload price of piglead from $1.08 to $1.39

[Jumping Frog]

What is the actual value of the raw materials needed to make a $30 box of ammo?
Raw materials are not their only costs. I guarantee you that their costs attributable to government regulatory compliance at the local, state and federal level, plus government-mandated tax and accounting compliance, plus legal fees would stagger you.

[Rocky Raab]

Yup. There is only about a dollar's worth of paint on a Matisse, a Rembrandt, a Michelangelo ...