The United States is facing a critical shortage of TNT, a key ingredient in commercial explosives used in mining, construction, and energy production, according to Macklin Fishman of CNBC. Reliance on foreign suppliers—primarily from Turkey, Vietnam, Australia, and India—has intensified due to the Ukraine war, surging demand, and tariffs, driving prices from 50 cents a pound to over $20 per pound. The shortage threatens infrastructure, energy, and manufacturing projects. In response, Congress awarded Repkon USA $435 million to build a domestic TNT plant in Kentucky, expected online by 2028, but short-term supply challenges persist. Alternatives like RDX are also scarce, highlighting the broader vulnerability of U.S. critical materials supply chains. They write:
The United States is facing a shortage of TNT, a high explosive that is essential to the manufacturing of commercial explosives products, like cast boosters, which are commonly used in the mining and construction industries, according to the Institute of Makers of Explosives, or IME.
“Everything from your cellphone to your laptop to the roads you drive on to work, the homes you live in, just about everything you use on a daily basis started from commercial explosives,” said IME President Clark Mica.
The United States has depended on foreign suppliers of TNT since the mid-1980s, when the last domestic TNT facility shut down largely due to increasingly stringent environmental regulations. […]
However, the war in Ukraine is putting strain on the global defense supply chain.
“It was indeed actually China and Russia who up until just a few years ago were selling TNT directly to the USA. Then the U.S. had to rely a lot on Poland,” said GlobalData senior aerospace, defense and security analyst James Marques. […]
“Today marks the beginning of the return of TNT production to American soil. This history making initiative underscores our commitment to strengthening our national security and reducing reliance on foreign sources for critical materials,” Maj. Gen. John T. Reim said at a news conference last November.
Yet the plant is not estimated to be operational until 2028. […]
“Without these materials, you are unable to mine the critical minerals that are used to make cellphones. You’re unable to mine the aggregates that go into road-based materials. On the energy side, we use commercial explosives in energy production,” said Mica.
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