NFA Call to Action

[Salutecake]

Dave please remove if it does not meet your guidelines.

Take a look at Kellners FB page there a NFA call to action form you may want to fill out. https://www.facebook.com/kellnersfireworks/

[displayfireworks1]

I am reviewing that material now. I'm hearing different versions of why it is occurring. Also, I'm not sure anyone but God can change what China does or does not do.

[Salutecake]

Agreed Dave, as I said if it doesn't add up remove it, but it seemed legit news at the time.

[Berserker23]

Wow just read the whole article crazy times we’re in glad I bought my stuff early hopefully lots of people sign this and calls up it’s probably going to get a lot worse.

[PyroFL]

Could someone please post the article for us non Facebook users.

Thank you

C

[OhmsOutlaw]

Dear COBRA Members,

I am aware I am violating our non-COBRA post roles. However, I think this is important enough to help support our amazing industry if you are located here in the USA.

This post comes wearing the hat as a board member of the NFA, not COBRA.

Please take a few seconds and submit your name and location to help us add your name to a letter we are submitting on March 15th to US Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg. Please keep any comments non-political as the purpose of this post is to obtain names for the letter to help us, our friends and family who love fireworks, and those who make a living supporting and share passion for this amazing industry!

Please take a moment to add your name and location below. Please also SHARE to help distribute this link to as many individuals as possible.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc_C-IbGkE1pezQQzYdfSN_3IJ_ApzKMn8i25jtRw5c7nJ0ww/viewform?fbclid=IwAR0wEjYZ1nUFRXk8Cm1dEIHY-2sJERXu_gyzlPLMko4xpdWUi-XkHxu7PGU

A special thanks to Team COBRA for your role in helping.

Please find our NFA call to action below.

The Chinese government is holding national meetings in Beijing until March 15th. As a result, ALL fireworks manufacturing facilities are closed. This is going to negatively impact our industry at a time when shipping issues have already dealt us a critically bad hand. The factory closures are a ?gut punch? at a time when inventory levels of consumer fireworks importers, wholesalers, and retailers across the U.S. are at all-time lows ahead of what is expected to be another very high demand July 4th season for consumer fireworks.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, most municipal July 4th display shows last year were canceled forcing Americans to turn to consumer fireworks to celebrate the birth of the United States and show their patriotism in their backyards and neighborhoods. Our industry met consumer demand due to existing stateside inventories, strong production, and efficient shipping, but it did leave our warehouses depleted.

Not to be outdone the 2020 Christmas and New Year's season in the South was very strong further depleting, and in many cases, exhausting all consumer fireworks inventories.
In 2021 our industry faces another challenge. Municipalities have begun canceling their 2021 fireworks shows citing mass gatherings and COVID-19 concerns. We anticipate another record-setting year for consumer fireworks but worry, will we have the inventory to meet the demand?

There are critical differences between the 2020 season and the upcoming 2021 July 4th season:
1) There are no carryover inventories and new Chinese orders for inventory have been enormous. Consumer fireworks supply-demand is at an all-time high among U.S. importers.
2) The global shipping crisis has led to constrained shipping volumes and deliverability so the shipping capacity availability for fireworks is at a record low.
3) Delays at U.S. ports are compounding the problem, particularly in Long Beach, California, where delays in unloading vessels currently stand at 21 days. Keep in mind that a shipping vessel typically takes 11-13 days to go from Shanghai, China to Long Beach. The delay at the U.S port alone is nearly double the time of the actual ocean voyage.
4) Delays have caused shipping rates to increase as much as 100%, or even more in some cases.
5) Chinese production has been negatively affected by internal issues during the fall of 2020. In addition, the usual 30 days for a container to ship from China is now taking 60 days or more.

The shipping problem is universal ? it applies to all importers and exporters of any goods, not just fireworks. It is just more significant to our industry because we are seasonal, and time is very short. For many, the loss of one July 4th season is nearly the loss of an entire year's sales. Any business that loses nearly a year of sales faces a question of existence. Will they survive or will they fail?

It is time to reach out to DOT Secretary Buttigieg and tell him about the problems we are facing and the real chance that there will be little fireworks for this year's Fourth of July. The NFA will be sending a letter to the Secretary outlining our concerns and we need your signature NOW to show a united front.

Please give our Executive office a call at (816) 741-1826 or submit your name online to add your name to the letter by March 12th, so we can get the letter to US Transportation Secretary Peter Buttigieg on March 15th.

Also, please reach out to your customers and ask them to call our office as well. This issue is too important and we need to act now.

Together we stand. For the sake of our industry, I trust that you will answer this call to action to #SaveOurFireworks once again. You did this before with the fight against the metals ban, and we prevailed. Now it is time to do it once again to get fireworks moving, manufactured, and delivered.

Steve Houser
President, National Fireworks Association

[RalphieJ]

Wait. The factories were closed all of last year due to Covid, or they got 8-9 months worth of production in before this recent closure? That is not clear in this report.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Besides complaining, what is the NFA proposing to make the Chinese set aside world domination for a minute, and start making fireworks for the Americans?? Better yet, what is their plan to make the dock workers unload ships faster?? I'm not understanding this.... :confused:

[PyroFL]

Thank you for posting for us non Facebook user.

The letter is a Noble idea and I applaud his efforts but this is just the effects of a larger problem that’s so enormous this letter can’t or will do anything. Obviously Mr Houser truly doesn’t see the bigger picture and this letter will fall on deaf ears.

This product (fireworks) is only 1 of 10,000 of thousands with the same issue. His letter would be better directed to the DOD and other Goverment and state agencies.

Tampa Rick was kind of joking but he has a better idea of what’s going on then Mr Houser.

Sadly for hobbyist like us and professionals were just caught in the middle of a very large problem that will not be resolved anytime soon.

[beaver nation]

Besides complaining, what is the NFA proposing to make the Chinese set aside world domination for a minute, and start making fireworks for the Americans?? Better yet, what is their plan to make the dock workers unload ships faster?? I'm not understanding this.... :confused:

yes this is very stupid in my mind. this shipping congestion is across ALL types of imports and even worse is the idea that the parasite class in bureaucracy is going to "help" (it would get even worse most likely). This is absurd