{"id":13330,"date":"2013-02-11T07:29:05","date_gmt":"2013-02-11T12:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/?p=13330"},"modified":"2013-02-15T11:31:36","modified_gmt":"2013-02-15T16:31:36","slug":"national-rush-for-firearms-benefits-nh-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2013\/02\/11\/national-rush-for-firearms-benefits-nh-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"National Rush For Firearms Benefits NH Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_13332\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Workers cast firearms parts at Sturm, Ruger's Newport foundry\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13332\" title=\"Foundry Workers\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114-620x620.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3114.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Amanda Loder \/ StateImpact NH<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers cast firearms parts at Sturm, Ruger&#39;s Newport foundry<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As federal lawmakers grapple with tighter gun control laws, business is good for the firearms industry.\u00a0 Across the country, gun dealers can\u2019t keep them on the shelves, and manufacturers can\u2019t keep up with demand.<\/p>\n<p>But how do these trends affect New Hampshire&#8217;s economy?<\/p>\n<p>If you pick up a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ruger.com\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.ruger.com\/index.html\">Sturm, Ruger<\/a> gun\u2014rifle, pistol, revolver, assault rifle -odds are it was made in Newport, New Hampshire.\u00a0 Or at least, parts of it were cast in the company\u2019s on-site foundry, and shipped to Ruger\u2019s other factory, in Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt takes about two or three hours to make a gun from components into the box,\u201d says Tom Sullivan, Vice President of Newport Operations for Sturm, Ruger. \u201cEvery product we make at this point is very popular, and we have large backlogs on every product we make.\u201d<!--more--><\/p>\n<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-13330-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/GunEcon0211.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/GunEcon0211.mp3\">https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/GunEcon0211.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>That\u2019s good news for Ruger\u2019s 1,200 New Hampshire employees.\u00a0 In fact, the company\u2019s considering adding some jobs as it introduces new products.\u00a0 The wages for floor workers here can go up to about $25 an hour.\u00a0 In Sullivan County, where the <a href=\"http:\/\/factfinder2.census.gov\/faces\/tableservices\/jsf\/pages\/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_5YR_DP03\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/factfinder2.census.gov\/faces\/tableservices\/jsf\/pages\/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_5YR_DP03\">median wage<\/a> is about $13,000 dollars lower than the <a href=\"http:\/\/factfinder2.census.gov\/faces\/tableservices\/jsf\/pages\/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_5YR_DP03\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/factfinder2.census.gov\/faces\/tableservices\/jsf\/pages\/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_5YR_DP03\">state as a whole<\/a>, it\u2019s hard to overestimate how important Sturm, Ruger is to the area.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"related-content alignright\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/05\/11\/three-reasons-why-its-boom-time-for-nh-manufacturers\/\">Three Reasons Why It&#8217;s Boom Time For NH Manufacturers<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/12\/01\/new-hampshire-fewer-subsidies-to-corporations-than-most-states\/\">New Hampshire: Fewer Subsidies To Corporations Than Most States<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/10\/31\/are-granite-staters-better-off-than-four-years-ago\/\">Are Granite Staters Better Off Than Four Years Ago? Depends On Your Job<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/2012\/03\/13\/why-gen-ys-slowly-reconsidering-factory-work\/\">Why Gen Y&#8217;s (Slowly) Reconsidering Factory Work<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/10\/1058204843_32496fe28c-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/new-hampshire-economy\/\">Your Guide To New Hampshire&#8217;s Economy<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/07\/IMG_0549-60x60.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/manufacturing\/\">How NH&#8217;s Building A New Manufacturing Economy<\/a><\/p><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2011\/10\/4797436223_255b5d5652.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/topic\/dartmouth-lake-sunapee\/\">Your Guide To The Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Economy<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\u201cAnd a lot of your Newporters work there,\u201d says Ella Casey, head of the <a href=\"http:\/\/newportnhchamber.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/newportnhchamber.org\/\">Newport Area Chamber of Commerce<\/a>.\u00a0 She moved to the town with her family back in the 1960\u2019s, when Sturm Ruger was just getting set-up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd of course, at that time, we had Brampton Woolen Mills, we had Dorr Mill, we had three shoe manufacturing factories, and they\u2019ve all gone,&#8221; Casey says.\u00a0 &#8220;So this is really the largest business of its kind, or whatever, in this part of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sturm, Ruger is actually one of <em>two<\/em> large-scale gun manufacturers in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n<p>On the Seacoast, Exeter-based <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sigsauer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.sigsauer.com\/\">Sig Sauer<\/a> is another big employer.<\/p>\n<p>The company didn\u2019t respond to repeated phone messages requesting an interview.\u00a0 But Christopher Way with the state\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dred.state.nh.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.dred.state.nh.us\/\">Department of Resources and Economic Development<\/a> says Sig Sauer is planning to expand into the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.peasedev.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.peasedev.org\/\">Pease International Tradeport<\/a> in Portsmouth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[The company is] probably putting in about $7.5 million into that expansion,&#8221; Way says.\u00a0 &#8220;When it\u2019s all said and done, they\u2019re probably going to be bringing people from Massachusetts\u2014about 570 employees.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13335\"  class=\"wp-caption module image left\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Like many firearms manufacturers right now, Sturm, Ruger can't assemble guns fast enough to meet consumer demand\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13335\" title=\"Gun Parts\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125-620x620.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3125.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Amanda Loder \/ StateImpact New Hampshire<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Like many firearms manufacturers right now, Sturm, Ruger can&#39;t assemble guns fast enough to meet consumer demand<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Adding together the workers at Sturm, Ruger, Sig Sauer, and the small gunsmiths dotting the state, firearms manufacturing doesn\u2019t actually account for that many jobs.\u00a0 That\u2019s according to numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.<\/p>\n<p>Citing these figures, Dennis Delay with the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies says the industry only represents two-tenths of a percent of jobs in the state.\u00a0 But, \u201cProportionally, we have 18 times more people working in small ordinance manufacturing in New Hampshire than is true at the national level,&#8221; Delay says.\u00a0 &#8220;So in that regard, it\u2019s a fairly important industry in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.issuu.com\/nssfpublications\/docs\/2012economicimpact?mode=window\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/www.issuu.com\/nssfpublications\/docs\/2012economicimpact?mode=window\">industry-funded report<\/a>, around 2,100 Granite Staters work in jobs directly related to firearms and ammunition.\u00a0 But when you add in suppliers and other jobs on the periphery, that number shoots up to about 6,000.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the jobs, of course, are at gun stores.\u00a0 Take Bob Lee, who owns <a href=\"http:\/\/leesgunshop.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/leesgunshop.com\/\">Lee\u2019s Gun Shop<\/a> in Hudson. He\u2019s glad the industry is doing well\u2014after all, his livelihood depends on it. But the kind of demand he\u2019s seeing right now isn\u2019t necessarily good for business in the long run.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13336\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 300px;\"><a class=\"fancybox\" title=\"Bob Lee's business is about double what it was this time last year. Like gun dealers all over the country, his inventory is stretched thin.\" href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086.jpg\" rel=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13336\" title=\"Bob Lee\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086-620x620.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086-60x60.jpg 60w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/files\/2013\/02\/IMG_3086.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Amanda Loder \/ StateImpact New Hampshire<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Lee&#39;s business is about double what it was this time last year. Like gun dealers all over the country, his inventory is stretched thin.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAny gun across the board, right, these days is, I sell one, I can\u2019t bring five in to replace it.\u00a0 I sell it, I don\u2019t have that gun anymore,&#8221; Lee says.\u00a0 As for how long he will have to wait for that gun,\u00a0 &#8220;We don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Nobody knows.\u00a0 Nobody\u2019s experienced what\u2019s going on right now.\u00a0 The demand for firearms is far greater than the manufacturer\u2019s production capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And Lee says his situation\u2019s not unique\u2014the same is true for gun shops pretty much everywhere. \u201cBecause everybody\u2019s in panic mode as to what the government may try, or states may try to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Back in his office at Sturm, Ruger, Tom Sullivan says it\u2019s hard to tell when places like Lee\u2019s Gun Shop might see more stock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese days, with the level of demand, it might take anywhere from a week to a couple of months to see something,&#8221; Sullivan says.\u00a0 &#8220;But we\u2019re producing every model, every day, through our factories.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Sturm, Ruger\u2019s stock price reached <a href=\"http:\/\/quote.morningstar.com\/stock\/chart.aspx?t=RGR&amp;region=USA&amp;culture=en-us\" target=\"_blank\" data-cke-saved-href=\"http:\/\/quote.morningstar.com\/stock\/chart.aspx?t=RGR&amp;region=USA&amp;culture=en-us\">historic highs<\/a> at the end of November, after President Obama was re-elected. Then they tumbled just weeks later, in the days following the Newtown massacre.\u00a0 Since then, Ruger has steadily regained ground in the market\u2014up 27 percent since the middle of December.<\/p>\n<p>So for now, at least, business is booming.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As federal lawmakers grapple with tighter gun control laws, business is good for the firearms industry.\u00a0 Across the country, gun dealers can\u2019t keep them on the shelves, and manufacturers can\u2019t keep up with demand. But how do these trends affect New Hampshire&#8217;s economy? If you pick up a Sturm, Ruger gun\u2014rifle, pistol, revolver, assault rifle [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":13335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[188,503,508,502],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13330"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/new-hampshire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}