Big Sis cuts ammo orders

Say it ain't so! Big Sis and the Department of Homeland Security says it's buying less ammo because of the sequester. But the DHS cupboard is far from bare, reports the Washington Times:

Despite the potential for cuts, the department still reported stockpiling more than 260 million rounds of ammunition as of November 2012 — a two-year supply, according to information provided to the committee ahead of a hearing on Thursday.

The Times addresses the uproar in past year over DHS and its bid requests for huge amounts of both rifle and pistol ammo. It also speaks of DHS insistence that those contract requests were for "up to" amounts, not actual orders.

Begs the question I've been asking for some time: Why would DHS attempt to lock in contracts for huge amounts of ammo that would never be purchased? At the very least, it displays gross incompetence.

Why would ammo makers agree to contracts that would only result in a fraction of the business committed to? There's just no incentive, and it would impeded efficient allocation of resources. Even if DHS wasn't buying, manufacturers would still have to make contingency plans (such as holding capacity in reserve) should the agency suddenly decide it wants to max out its potential orders.
It's time DHS and its ammo buying got more oversight and transparency. Either the agency is being dishonest with its ammo purchase denials, or it clearly is making a mess of its ammo contracting efforts.