Fireworks industry finds stable ground after pandemic, demand expected to stay sky-high

Brothers Mason, 10, and Declan Wheeler, 7, craned their heads to talk to employees of a fireworks stand over the counter as they helped their dad shop Thursday.

Mason held a cellphone and calculated the family’s total on an app as they picked out items that would sparkle, smoke or shoot into the sky.

The family came from Garland to Pyro Penny’s in unincorporated Dallas County to buy their holiday fireworks early. Declan’s mom, 31-year-old Macey Wheeler, said the family will return July Fourth to the shop, where people can shoot off their fireworks on about 30 acres of land near the Trinity River.

“It was really cool to be able to find somewhere that you can go and just sit in your car,” she said. “We’ll just come out here Tuesday night and spend a couple of hours and bring watermelon and drinks and snacks and hang out.”

Wheeler noted that firework prices rose drastically over the past two years, but the selection this summer is not as expensive. She remembers buying smoke balls for about $12 last year when they used to sell for closer to $6.

“This year, so far it seems like it’s gotten better,” she said as her husband, Levi Wheeler, and kids continued to add to their pile. “It doesn’t seem as crazy as it was last year.”

After three years of explosive demand, supply-chain woes and rising shipping costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fireworks industry in America has largely stabilized, promising a holiday weekend of blasts.

Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, said the fireworks industry has settled after a few years of pandemic-induced growing pains.

“Things have leveled out,” she said.

When the pandemic hit, consumer fireworks sales rocketed in the summer as many professional shows were canceled around the country. The demand in 2020 and 2021 depleted shelves, Heckman said, and supply-chain delays meant some stores and shows were short on stock. The cost of shipping rose year after year, ultimately blowing up consumer prices in 2022.

That’s no longer the case. Heckman said although raw-material and labor costs continue to rise, ocean freight shipping has gone down. Consumer prices are still higher than before the pandemic, but Heckman predicted shelf prices this season will be roughly the same as last year’s.

“I don’t think consumers are going to see a spike in fireworks this year,” she said. “Not like other goods that are impacted by inflation.”

In 2019, consumer firework revenue was $1 billion, Heckman said. In 2020, that almost doubled to $1.9 billion. Revenue reached $2.3 billion last year, according to the American Pyrotechnics Association, which translates to 436.4 million pounds of fireworks.

“The popularity of consumer fireworks is the highest it’s ever been,” she said.

Heckman would predict another record year, but drought conditions in the Midwest might affect this season’s numbers, she said. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, many burn bans are enacted in West and South Texas, but North Texas was clear as of Friday.

Planning ahead

Cody Wisdom, owner of USA Fireworks, has been in the family business for 21 years. The group has 11 locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including a superstore in Copeville, near Lavon Lake about 30 miles northeast of Dallas.

Wisdom said business is good this season — roughly the same as last year, with solid sales online. Lower shipping prices have eased the company’s costs this season.

“We got nine containers full of fireworks outside — there’s supply in all of our stores,” Wisdom said. “We’re set this year.”

Retailers had to place orders months in advance when the supply chain broke down after 2020, a trend that has continued as sellers now prepare for unforeseen roadblocks. USA Fireworks has already placed its order for the December season.

“We know that now,” Wisdom said. “We order stuff literally 12 months ahead of time.”

Fort Worth-based Pyro Shows of Texas supplies and choreographs the famous Kaboom Town fireworks show in Addison. Company vice president Chad Stanley said product prices went up 20% to 30% this year, after a 30% to 40% rise in 2022.

“We’ve got some really neat fireworks we are going to show off this year,” he said about the event, which kicks off at 9:30 p.m. Monday. He teased a scene entirely of ring shells, a new soundtrack and, of course, lots of red, white and blue.

A family tradition

Pyro Penny’s sits off of Dowdy Ferry Road, in a pocket of land between the Dallas and Hutchins city limits. Owner John Palmer, 60, said Thursday that business had been a little slow because of the aggressive heat bearing down on Texas, but added that he expected shoppers to show up in droves like usual on the last two days of the season: July 3 and 4.

“This year shipping has gone back down, not to the pre-pandemic levels but it’s gone down a lot,” he said. “I know at my stand at least, my retail and wholesale, we’ve dropped our prices.”

For example, he said certain items that cost $150 last year are now priced at $130.

America’s fireworks supply is largely manufactured in China and shipped to America in 40-foot containers. Palmer said one container cost $14,000 in 2020. In 2022, it was about $45,000. This year he paid roughly $22,000.

“It created major havoc,” Palmer said.

The stand is prepared for crowds, with a large, white tent set up in front to shield people from the sun. Three shelves of goods stretch the length of the stand and display everything from poppers to big cakes that can go off for three minutes. Brightly colored products include crackers that release parachuting figurines and sparkle-shooting chickens.

Susie Ramirez, 44, took her 14-year-old son, Aidan, to the stand Thursday and told him he could pick out $200 worth of smaller items for their family’s Fourth of July celebration. He walked up and down the long expanse of the stand and made his selections, including a spinning fountain Pikachu and sparkling swords to load into his cardboard box.

“Whatever makes him happy,” she said. “They’re only 14 once.”

Palmer said he’s been in the fireworks business since he was 7, when he helped his parents sell the summer staple at the very same location.

“It’s what I know the best,” he said. “I’ve been in a lot of different seasonal businesses. This is the most fun one.”

Fireworks safety

While fireworks are often considered a staple of Independence Day celebrations, possessing and setting them off in the city limits of Dallas, and many other North Texas cities, is illegal.

Heckman, with the American Pyrotechnics Association, urged consumers to follow safety instructions and guidelines:

•Stay away from dry grass and combustible structures.

•Never allow children to handle fireworks.

•Designate a sober adult in charge of all activities.