Fireworks shortage could dim Fourth of July celebrations nationwide
Fireworks are offered for sale at Uncle Sam's Fireworks on May 27, 2021 in Hammond, Indiana. Retailers are encouraging customers to shop early as production and shipping delays from China have already created a shortage of fireworks nationwide. (Phot
Fireworks could be in short supply this Fourth of July.
As America gears up to celebrate Independence Day and a return to normalcy with most U.S. adults fully vaccinated, annual holiday light shows may be looking a little dim this year as a result of nationwide shortages in the post-pandemic.
Youngstown, Ohio-based Phantom Fireworks, the country’s largest consumer-based retail fireworks company, is urging consumers to buy their fireworks sooner rather than later amid supply chain issues and global shipment delays, the company announced on its website.
"Like many other industries, the fireworks industry has also experienced delays due to shipment challenges facing the global market," Alan L. Zoldan, executive vice president at Phantom, said in a statement.
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Fewer fireworks being imported into the U.S. is impacting a number of national suppliers. That’s the case for KG Fireworks in South Range, Wisconsin, which has seen an influx of demand that’s been constant throughout the pandemic, FOX21 reported.
"The biggest thing is the shipping," KG Fireworks owner Jason Deatherage told FOX21. "We have been actively reaching out to our customers and letting people know there is a shortage, delays, a lot of stuff won’t even get into the U.S. until after the Fourth of July."
Fireworks retailers in Michigan are also in low supply as a result of shipping delays from China due amid COVID-19.
"We started buying this year’s stock last year, because last July, last August, we saw this coming," Reed Miller, owner of Pro Fireworks with 14 locations in the Metro Detroit area, told FOX2 Detroit.
Firework shows are slated to take off across the country in the coming weeks. President Joe Biden is slated to host an Independence Day gathering for first responders, essential workers and military members at the White House with fireworks to ring in the holiday and to celebrate a return to normalcy, the Associated Press reported.
Orlando-based Walt Disney World Resort on Wednesday announced the return of its fireworks beginning July 1, after a 15-month hiatus, according to Disney Parks Blog. And the annual Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks is returning to New York City this year with fireworks launching from the East River on July 4.