The fireworks industry has kicked off fall production and is dealing with a lot of headwinds going into the New Year’s season. Many customers have reached out to ask about price increases, inventory availability, and… well… price increases. Matt sat down to share some industry updates and provide guidance for your New Year’s fireworks orders:
Global Supply Chain Crisis
As everyone has surely heard by now, we are in the middle of a global supply chain crisis. A wave of consumer demand over the past year has depleted inventory levels across the country and led to unprecedented demand for new goods from overseas, which has now clogged our ports and rail yards. Untangling this knot has proved extremely complex and there is currently no relief in sight. As a result, container vessel space is extremely limited and the cost to ship a container of fireworks has skyrocketed to three times what we were paying a year ago, driving fireworks prices much higher right now.
Some customers have asked whether there might be some pricing relief after the Christmas season if import demand eases up. Unfortunately, we don’t foresee lower shipping prices until the ports, rail yards, and shipping lines are able to work through the massive backlogs in their systems. We expect pricing to remain elevated well into 2022.
Fireworks Production
Production started off great this past September and we were able to quickly replenish our stock levels in China for many products. However, in recent weeks, electricity shortages in China have forced raw materials suppliers to limit their production days. This is leading to materials shortages, higher manufacturing costs, and ultimately, production delays. Of course, this will also impact prices, but not as severely as shipping costs. We see this as a shorter-term issue and hope to see it resolved by the time we come out of the Chinese New Year production break in February.
Bottom Line — Order Now for New Year’s
We know that all of this isn’t great news for your New Year’s fireworks purchases, but we want to make sure you have the best information available about what’s going on in the industry.
Your best selection for the New Year’s season is what is available on the website and in stock today and we recommend placing your order through our website as soon as possible. We do have containers on the water, but with the constant delays right now, we don’t expect those to arrive in time for us to receive them and ship inventory out to deliver by New Year’s Eve.
Follow Us for Future Updates
We do have a significant amount of inventory landing in January and we will provide another update at that time to provide guidance going into the July 4th season and the kick-off to our Early Ship Sale in February. Be sure to follow us for the latest! You can also reach out to our team at 904-213-0615 or sales@superiorfireworks.com with any questions.
I remember the gas shortage leading to better mileage, the coffee shortage leading to more tea drinking, the beef shortage leading consumers to pasta, chicken pork, and seafood.
I suspect the firework shortages of 202/ will lead to laser and holographic shows that are
re-programmed rather than replaced.
That’s an interesting observation. The professional display side of the fireworks industry has been very heavily impacted through these issues as well, and those types of technologies could be a viable response to those challenges if this drags on too long. With the nature of the shortages on the consumer fireworks side right now, we expect inventory levels to start recovering next year, which should take some pressure off for families celebrating at home.