Yeah I realized that it was started regarding commercial loaded ammunition not reloading bullets after I had posted a few but I just left him up there.plenty of places online have 9 mm ammunition for sale if you're willing to pay somewhere between $75 and a dollar per round.
Can't speak to LGS, but at least online, over the last maybe 2 months or so, I've gone from seeing the occasional "you can back order ammo from us!" or "We have 223 and 9mm in stock, just delivered. Get it before it is gone" emails from a small number of places.
To stores who I hadn't gotten emails in maybe 9 months sending out semi regular ones again (SGA and Outdoor). Regular emails from places like Classic and Midway that they've got ammo. I haven't particularly looked at ammo in a long while, but a couple quick glances, a lot of online places have anything from one, up to several options in 223 and 9mm and generally seem to be keeping stuff in stock.
I've got no idea on demand, but I'd imagine it has softened a little. Hopefully warmer weather doesn't cause demand to pickup. Though I am sure with inventory seemingly up, prices will start to erode a little and that'll increase demand as the guys who were sitting out 80cpr 9mm hop on cases of 60cpr 9mm. Or 50. Or 40. Etc.
I could be wrong, but I sort of suspect we will see some quick erosion from the highs (just look, Natchez has cases at 55cpr). I do suspect it is going to take a long time to see prices get much under 50cpr. It took till like 2016 to see prices hit remotely near the low after Sandy. If my memory is working right, prices for 223 and 9mm settled in around 40cpr and 30cpr after a bit, but then took like 3 years before they slowly settled down to around ~28cpr and 18cpr (and yes, I know you could find brass cased somewhat less sometimes).
Even if the market of 1.5yrs ago returned we wouldn't see those prices as metals prices are up (I can't speak to the chemical feed stock prices for powder and primers). From what I've heard, copper and zinc are up in the range of 20-30% and lead is up like 10% or so.
Margins were pretty low 1.5yrs ago, so I doubt we'd see much less than 22-25cpr 9mm and 35-40cpr .223 is the supply and demand situation were "fixed". Thought the economy getting right could also mean metals prices drop. It is going to take years to get to that.
I can still hope that the end of the beginning is now.
I paid $189.99 for the Blazer 1000 loose box form Natchez in September of 2019. Damn glad I bought 9mm dies and started loading my own. I've seen the same 1000 box on Gun Broker for as high as $900 ouch!!!