Local Fireworks Businesses Feel Affects Of National Shortage

Lumber, chicken, toilet paper are just a few of the shortages the nation has experienced over the past year.

Now, just in time for the holiday weekend, fireworks. Fireworks City owner Hugh Billingsley said the shortage comes from the inability to transport the product.

“The Chinese can make fireworks real quick,” Billingsley said. “But it got down to an issue of  having containers to put them on, being able to get them to the United States, being able to get those container ships unloaded, and then getting them into the market.”

Billingsley said that his business has been affected both in a lack of product and an increase in prices to afford shipping. He said that shortage has most affected small items like firecrackers, and even more so with assortment boxes.

“That box takes up so much room whenever they put it into the box for the assortment pack,” Billingsley said. “So what they’ve done with that box is just pack it in by the piece and send that to the United States.”

Billingsley also warned customers that some tents might have old supplies. Certain products are known not to have been manufactured or sent to the U.S. this year, so if you see them that means they’re more than a year old. Older fireworks can cause issues with duds

“I would look out for those because yes you do see some companies selling some cheap fireworks, and it’s because of the age of them,” Billingsley said. “Age is not a good thing in fireworks. That means more days out here under a tent or something like that, or they could be exposed to humidity and rain.”