JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why Ukraine Hasn’t Been a Boon to U.S. Defense Companies” – WSJ
“Soaring demand for munitions hasn’t translated yet into big sales for arms producers suffering from supply chain snarls, labor shortages.”
“… [Q]uantities of arms the U.S. is sending to Ukraine are eye-catching: [such as] thousands of artillery shells and missiles, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition …. [with] [t]he total security assistance package[]now worth more than $27 billion …. Yet the largest ground war in Europe since World War II isn’t translating into boom times for U.S. defense contractors. Hobbled by supply chain disruptions, a tight labor market and a Pentagon procurement process that can take years, arms makers have been struggling to respond …. Labor shortages throughout the supply chain — … from computer chips to glue – also hobbled efforts to boost production even before demand from Ukraine skyrocketed. … Pentagon officials have … grown worried that equipping Kyiv has shrunk the U.S. military’s own inventories. The Pentagon … is awarding contracts at a faster clip, and is now working to step in with contracts to address … industrial capacity ….”