The price of fireworks has skyrocketed across the country under President Joe Biden, meaning party-goers will be getting less of an explosion than they probably expect for the price this Fourth of July weekend.
Overall, the cost of fireworks is up 35 percent across the firework industry, according to an April report from American Pyrotechnics Association (APA), which represents the consumer firework industry.
The report attributed the cost increase throughout the country to the rising costs of raw materials, shipping, and transportation, and the insurance and labor it takes to make the fireworks.
The president of the association and owner of a New Hampshire-based firework retailer, Stephen Pelkey, told USA Today that the cost of labor in his store has also increased. He noted that most of his store clerks are making from $15 to $18 per hour, whereas they were making $12 to $15 per hour four years ago.
The APA indicated some of the areas inflation affected the firework industry, which included the following:
- Prices of supplies and raw materials have risen by approximately 20 percent.
- Shipping costs have risen from roughly $8-10,000 per container to approximately $45,000 per container, forcing the price of products to skyrocket roughly 50 percent.
- Insurance rates for product liability, auto, truck, and hazardous materials insurance have risen.
- Transportation costs have skyrocketed. Across the county, the average price per gallon of fuel was above $5 for the first time in June.
- Operational and labor costs have gone up.
- Domestic shipping and rental rates have shot up.
Local media across the nation are reporting shortages and massive price hikes as Americans shop for Independence Day fireworks.
- “Two years ago when you were like buying like a full container of fireworks … it was like $7,000 for shipping on a full container of fireworks. This year. It’s up to like between 30 and 40,000 depending,” a distributor told Idaho’s KIFI.
- “Davey Fireworks gets their fireworks both domestically and internationally and has seen shipping prices nearly triple. Because of that, fireworks that customers could buy for about $27 three years ago are now $55,” Nebraska’s KOLN reported.
- “A couple of years ago, maybe two or three years ago, you could probably get a really good show for $100 to $120,” LB Hudson, the owner of Mega Mega Fireworks, told Arkansas’ KFSM. “Now you’re probably looking at $180 to $200 to really put on that show for you and your family.”
- “They’ve gone up, probably, in the neighborhood of 10 to 15% this year, over last year’s increase, which is probably another 10%,” Skip Clinton, the managing operator at Wholesale Fireworks, told Pennsylvania’s KYW-TV. “So, in the last couple of years, you’re talking about 25%.”
- “Some of the fireworks are facing over 70 percent increase in cost this year,” Texas’s KFOX-TV reported.
- Jimmy Nevarez, who owns over 30 firework stands, told Colorado’s KCNC, “Inflation is up, prices for fireworks have been increasing steadily for the last two to three years, with another 30 percent increase this year.”
USA Today also noted that the cancellation of public fireworks shows over the last couple of years during the coronavirus pandemic promoted the sale of fireworks for at-home use for two years in a row.
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.