Chinese New Year: how to organize the delivery of goods during the holidays

There are 7 national holidays in China. New Year's Day, Labor Day, and the Day of the Founding of the People's Republic of China are celebrated on the same dates every year. Other holidays are determined by the lunar calendar: it depends on the change of the moon's phases. New Year in China is an important family holiday. In 2024, it is celebrated from February 9 to 15.

This article will help you understand when to prepare for shipping and delivery delays, when to congratulate your Chinese partners on the holiday, and how to plan your orders so that your warehouse doesn't sit idle.

Chinese New Year

Traditionally, this important event affects the global freight market. This means that businesses and factories close, and carriers reduce capacity due to falling demand.

New Year's Eve is celebrated for 15 days in China, but most suppliers do not work for 30-40 days. For a month, production stops in China, and the streets become empty. There are several reasons for this long downtime:

1. In large Chinese cities, up to 90% of workers come from other areas. New Year's holidays are the only opportunity of the year for them to go to their hometown and spend time with their families.
2. Throughout the year, factory workers do not have vacations and work 6 days a week. Most workers wait for the New Year's weekend to have a good rest.
3. In China, they honor traditions, including lunar holidays. They believe that the New Year's holiday should be spent with family.

If you want to be more likely to receive the goods on time, place your order by November 30 to have time to ship the batch by December 31.

How Chinese New Year affects transportation logistics

Most businesses, including public services in China, will be closed during official holidays

Keep in mind that not only Chinese factories are closed for the holidays, but also resellers, representative offices, warehouses, delivery services, and the transportation sector. The biggest impact of the New Year holidays will be felt in the pre-holiday period, when factories are operating at full capacity, fulfilling orders before closing.

Higher productivity puts additional pressure on transportation logistics. An overloaded supply chain is a problem for almost all industries, and excess freight traffic during the pre-holiday period will create even more logistical challenges.

And not only that. Be prepared for a shortage of products produced in a hurry. And it's good if it becomes noticeable before the shipment from the factory. There are situations when this fact becomes noticeable after arrival in Ukraine. Then you need to change part of the batch even more urgently, or correct the suppliers' mistakes yourself.

Therefore, be sure to conduct a quality check of the supplier immediately after the start of production and before shipment to the port or railway terminal - this will help to avoid defective goods. Choose only reliable suppliers.

How to prepare for the New Year in China

If you don't want the delivery to take a month or two, place your order in advance - 3 weeks before the holidays when buying ready-made products, and 1.5-2 months if they are going to be produced specifically for you.

You can distribute your business activities with the Chinese side in 2024 in the following way:

• January 14-24 - monitor the market, select interesting products and suppliers, and conduct preliminary negotiations;
• January 25-30 - suppliers generally stop responding to inquiries, but if you try hard enough, you can place a pre-order for the first weeks after the holidays or reserve capacity at the factory from a potential manufacturer - let him prepare for future work;
• from January 31 to February 15 is the dead season;
• from February 20, activity gradually resumes, managers can start responding to inquiries, and in the next 2 weeks, everyone will be back to normal.

We can talk about normal business activity only from March 1, 2024.

How to organize delivery from China for the holidays

Carriers face a shortage of empty containers in Chinese ports and terminals

A universal advice for those waiting for delivery from China, especially on holidays and pre-holidays, is to check with the company in advance how it works during a particular period. If the shipment is urgent, make an advance payment as early as possible to be put at the front of the production line.

Calculate new deadlines taking into account holidays and notify your customers about them. If it so happens that an order has to be placed at the last minute, consider air delivery instead of sea freight or rail. Shipping by sea in winter takes longer due to a noticeable deterioration in weather conditions.

You can also establish cooperation with partners who have consolidation warehouses in China or fulfillment centers. DiFreight will help you ensure uninterrupted supply of products, and you will have time to stock up for the Chinese holidays. Contact us for a consultation.