IMO, there is something we have not covered in the discussion. One of the building blocks that TMP was counting on was that there would be survivors with skills. There would be doctors, engineers, steel workers, etc. These people would still have the knowledge base to assist TMP in the rebuilding.
IMO, this is probably what did happen in the first 5 - 10 year after The Bang. These people with knowledge were probably the most important resource a survivor community had. A person who could design and help build a earthen log dam to help contain drinkable water would be a wonderfull asset.
But as time went on, the most important skills were two.
1) We have to grow food to feed our selves.
2) We have to protect that food from those who would steal it.
The technology of farming in the late 20th early 21st century is very crop specific and energy intensive. In the 5+ years after The Bang, someone who can grow beans and corn and maybe some herbs for spices and home grown remedies becomes critical. The blacksmith, the black powder maker become the backbone of whatever self defense force our hypothetical village can muster. Also the person who can help keep whatever farm animals available alive is another important person.
I would think that black powder weapons would start to be produced, at least in some small qualtities very quickly. Yes there are those who would have a stock pile of whatever rifle ammo they prefer. But 5+ years from The Bang, unless you are a SERIOUS survivor, your 30-30 or whatever is now a basically useless club. Even if you have a large re-loading capability, you are going to be running dry on ammo. What you have left is saved "for an emergency." Hense the black powder weapons industries.
I think the another building block for TMP was that WWIII was going to (d)evolve into counter city strikes very quickly. Look at the strike pattern of the Soviet response. I would guess that 150 -200 million DEAD is a fair guess on the day of The Bang. Another 50-60 million probably dead in those first horrible weeks. More die by disease during the five years until Morrow comes out.
I propose that TMP was probably looking at 10 - 20 million survivors spread in very small pockets of survival. If we follow some of the numbers that Nate and others have proposed, we have some where between 20 - 40 thousand TMP. If we take the top end of both numbers, we are looking at one TMP person for every 500 survivors.
If you mesh that with the idea that Morrow is spread VERY thin across the USA, then the ideas of Nate's and others dealing with supplies becomes doable. IMO, TMP was designed to start small, stay small for a LONG time. Keep just enough alive to start the rebuild...some time tomorrow. Today is just to survive. But we keep the engineer, and the chemist and the farmer alive until we are READY to rebuild. These survivors (with Morrow help) will teach their children these skills.
Just another of my two cents.
Mike