TAMPA, Fla. — If your 4th of July celebration usually includes stuff that sparkles or goes boom, listen up!
Along with a whole bunch of other recent shortages, you can now add fireworks to the list.
“I heard there’s a shortage that’s going to be happening,” said Jeff Osborn, who was at Phantom Fireworks in Tampa on Thursday.
Osborn says for several weeks now he’s been slowly adding to his homegrown 4th of July display.
“I stocked up on the bigger assortments, just because I think those are going to be the first to go once they start selling out,” he said. “So, I wanted to get those out of the way first.”
Those in the "boom" biz say early shoppers like Osborn have the right idea since they’re forecasting far lower inventory later this month.
“I’d say we are short by about 30 percent,” said Cele Rasmussen, who owns part of a fireworks retail store.
“The actual product itself is available in China,” said Darren McKinley with Phantom Fireworks. “It’s getting it here. Which is the main problem.”
The culprit, say retailers, is the same issue creating all sorts of other shortages. Plenty of supply in China where the fireworks are made. Not enough shipping containers to get them here.
“First, manufacturing had to boost back up. But then, everybody wants something shipped. But there are only so many ships. There’s only so many containers you can put on the ship,” said Greg Price with J&W Fireworks.
Another issue? A lot of fireworks stores are already low on inventory. People spent the pandemic year setting off their own fireworks as those big professional displays were all canceled.
Last year the industry saw personal fireworks sales skyrocket to $1.9 billion. That’s the highest they’d seen in 20 years.
“Now, all those people who fell in love with consumer fireworks are going to go back to their place and find a much more limited selection,” said Steve Houser with the National Fireworks Association.
As a result, expect to see fewer stands, reduced selection and either higher prices or fewer of those BOGO deals.
Their advice?
“Shop early and shop often,” said McKinley. “Waiting till July it’s just not the best policy this year.”
“How true that is, I don’t know,” said Osborn. “But I wouldn’t take a chance if you’d like setting off your own fireworks.”
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