MUSKEGON, Mich. — Brian Werschem has been putting on fireworks shows in West Michigan for more than a decade.
"It puts a smile on people's faces. It's funny because it's an expensive show and there really is no revenue generated from it," says Werschem.
But this year revenue is not the only concern because the coronavirus has shut down fireworks manufacturers in China. Werschem says he is already hearing about problems from fireworks suppliers.
"They get 100% of their fireworks from China and that's where most of the manufacturing occurs and where most of the fireworks come from," says Werschem.
He's hearing that it won't be until late late May when current orders are shipped and because of safety regulations, large orders of fireworks cannot be sent to the United States by air, they must be shipped by boat.
"It's a long process for this type of product to come through customs, it's gotta go through customs when it's shipped and come through United States customs when it gets here, it gets put into a holding pattern, there is a lot to shipping this product over here," says Werschem.
That can take around 8 weeks which means some orders might not be filled by the 4th of July. And the shortage of fireworks will also have an affect on cost as prices could skyrocket.
"What would have been a $2,500 show they are going to pay $20,000 for it so you may see a significant decline in what the show looks like," says Werschem.
He says the good news is that a major show like the Coast Guard festival already has their supply of fireworks. But he says many smaller displays around West Michigan could be affected.
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