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The U.S. Firearms Industry: Inside the Numbers
* The U.S. firearms industry's economic impact is $32 billion. To put that in perspective, that’s about the same size as the U.S. organic industry and more than the budget of Nigeria. It’s grown from a $19 billion business in 2008 and appears to be accelerating at a quick clip.
* Background checks for gun buyers increased nearly 60% from December 2011 to December 2012. The FBI has already recorded 16.5 million background checks from Jan. 1, 2012 to November 2012 – the most on record.
* There are 51,000 gun shops in America, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives. That’s close to four times the number of Starbucks or McDonald’s stores in this country.
* The largest gunmakers in the U.S. have been raking in the profits over the last several years. Sturm, Ruger & Company (RGR) stock has increased nearly 500% in five years. Shares of Smith & Wesson’s (SWHC) have soared more than 75% in one year.
* Altogether, about 5.5 million firearms were made in America in 2010 and more than 26,000 new gun-related jobs have been created over the past two years.
* Background checks for gun buyers increased nearly 60% from December 2011 to December 2012. The FBI has already recorded 16.5 million background checks from Jan. 1, 2012 to November 2012 – the most on record.
* There are 51,000 gun shops in America, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Explosives. That’s close to four times the number of Starbucks or McDonald’s stores in this country.
* The largest gunmakers in the U.S. have been raking in the profits over the last several years. Sturm, Ruger & Company (RGR) stock has increased nearly 500% in five years. Shares of Smith & Wesson’s (SWHC) have soared more than 75% in one year.
* Altogether, about 5.5 million firearms were made in America in 2010 and more than 26,000 new gun-related jobs have been created over the past two years.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/u-firearms-industry-inside-numbers-184833993.html
With all the discussion about gun manufacturers, I thought this would be useful for some.
