More buck for the bang | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Not exactly a testament to our annual celebration of American independence, but when Chris Henson said it on Monday he undeniably struck on something true.

Standing in the Paramount Promotions tent at Cromwell Station in Glen Burnie, he said the allure of backyard fireworks is overcoming a 10 to 15 percent price jump in the cost of retail offerings with names like Lasting Dragon, Starfire and Rain Dance. The average customer is dropping $90 to $150 this year.

"It's an excuse for adults to play with fireworks and say they're doing it for the kids," Mr. Henson said.

Julie L. Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, said price hikes can be linked directly to China, where 98 percent of backyard consumer fireworks and 80 percent of the professional display fireworks used in the United States are made.

"The cost of the product itself from China has gone up about 30 to 35 percent," Ms. Heckman said.

The price of chemicals and paper used in fireworks is up, as is the cost of fuel to ship them around the world. But a big factor has been the refusal of Chinese ports to accept them, resulting in 10 to 15 percent fewer fireworks for the United States.

This year, retailers and pyrotechnicians are sharing their stockpiles to soften the blow.

"As competitive as this industry is, we bleed red, white and blue, and we'll do anything to try to make certain each community gets their Fourth of July show," Ms. Heckman said.

If shoppers are spending more bucks for their bang this year, they can expect the same for July 4, 2009. And professional displays, which are booked months or even years ahead, will cost more too.

"There will be price increases for next year," said Sandy McStay, a spokesman for Zambelli Fireworks Internationale, which puts on the fireworks displays in Glen Burnie, Baltimore and Annapolis. "There will be no choice because of the cost of bringing in the goods."

One of the biggest factors affecting this year's prices occurred in February, when a blast at a fireworks warehouse led to a ban on shipments at the southern port of Sanshui, Guangdong province. It previously handled 20 percent of China's pyrotechnic exports.

Then, in late March, officials stopped fireworks shipments at Nanshan, another Guangdong port, after inspectors found explosives that had been declared as something else.

Guangdong may not allow fireworks shipments to resume, because the province is trying to shift its economy to more sophisticated goods.

Adding to the industry's woes, China has ordered major ports such as Shanghai and Hong Kong to suspend shipments of explosives as part of tightened security ahead of August's Beijing Olympics.

In China, 30 to 40 percent of fireworks for overseas customers have not shipped, forcing many of the country's 7,000 factories to curtail or even stop taking overseas orders, said Liu Donghui, the secretary-general of China-based International Fireworks Association.

Fireworks stands stay open late on July 4th so people coming back from big fireworks shows can pick up their own to have more fireworks when they get home. Stands also will remain open throughout the weekend with discounted prices.

Only ground-based sparklers are available for sale legally in Anne Arundel County.

Like Mr. Henson, Judy Appleby hasn't seen her sales fizzle. She thinks people buy despite the increase because of their patriotism.

"You're celebrating a big event for this country," she said. "They save up for this. It's like Christmas."

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.