4th of July Fireworks Are Facing Supply Chain Challenges

The vast majority of fireworks originate in China, including 99% of recreational fireworks and about 70% of professional ones. In 2019, China contributed $315 million worth of fireworks and accounted for 94% of U.S. fireworks imports. The closest second, Spain, did not even breach the $5 million mark. Yet this more-than-thousand-year-old invention is becoming harder to come by, and costlier, due to numerous supply chain hiccups. Among the biggest are the ongoing effects of the pandemic, which hampered or shut down every industry. Additionally, the following factors all play a role: factory lockdowns, transportation delays, staff shortages in the trucking industry, hold-ups at global ports, unfulfilled backlogs, and shortages of everything from materials to containers.