News!

Problems In China Continue...

As everyone in the fireworks industry is preparing for another grand July 4th celebration, problems in China threaten to spoil the party.  As all the potential problems come to mind; economic slowdown, shipping, weather, fuel costs, labor shortage, lack of materials (chemicals), and they all are a factor, the worst is labor shortage.  That’s hard to imagine in a country of over a billion people, but it’s very real.
 
Recent years have seen a relaxing of fireworks prohibition in China.  Many major cities now allow the selling and shooting of fireworks.  The primary time of celebration is Chinese New Year, a weeklong celebration usually in late January or early February.  Most common Chinese laborers build their vacation or earned off time around the Chinese New Year, often taking the week before and the week after.  This interrupts prime fireworks production time for U.S. products.  Given that a large part of the fireworks production crews are not native to the production area (Hunan), a large percentage do not return in a timely fashion.  Also adding to this problem is that fireworks production is hot, dirty, and dangerous work.  Most workers are looking for a better opportunity closer to home.
 
Traditional production time (late summer and fall) for U.S. bound fireworks has been encroached on by the production of Chinese fireworks destined for local markets.  Add the fact that fireworks for China do not require the difficult regulations of the U.S. government, it’s easy to see why many factories are turning down U.S. orders.  This makes supply short and prices higher.

What does all this mean to us in the fireworks business here in the U.S.A.? Some items have gone up, many stayed the same. There is a shortage of some items, and some items won't get produced this year. But we here at Atomic have tried to keep  prices as low as possible and still maintain the finest quality that we have built our reputation on for over 79 years.
 
Enough gloom and doom, we have fireworks and more are arriving daily.  There are many great new items and there will be a July the 4th.  Early placing of orders and reasonable flexibility will be helpful in insuring that 2011 will be a great season!
From all of us here at Atomic Fireworks,we hope all of you have a happy and joyous July 4th this year.
Thank You!