Just in time for July 4, America’s latest shortage is fireworks

Just in time for July 4, America’s latest shortage is fireworks

Americans rushing out to buy fireworks for the Fourth of July this year are going to find a limited selection and higher prices — or empty shelves.

From toilet paper to beef, shortages and snarled supply chains have been a major side effect of the pandemic since lockdown stockpiling sent lines of shopping carts around stores and emptied shelves in March of 2020. Now it’s fireworks supplies that are fizzling.

Fireworks face unique shipping issues because only a handful of shipping lines currently accept them. Of them, only so many ships are available — and of those ships, only a limited portion of their cargo space can be allocated to material classified as hazardous, such as fireworks.

So, what kind of prices and inventory can you expect?

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