Chinese New Year and Peak Seasons: Planning Production and Shipping Across the Year

Sourcing· 16.07.2026· 6 min read Chinese New Year and Peak Seasons: Planning Production and Shipping Across the Year The short answer Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar, so the date moves each year between late January and mid-February, and real lost capacity runs two to four weeks. Place the pre-holiday order three to four months ahead using backward planning, and inspect the first post-holiday batch far more tightly than a repeat order. When is Chinese New Year and why does the date move? Chinese New Year, the Spring Festival, follows the Chinese lunar calendar rather than the Gregorian one, so the date shifts every year. In practice it falls somewhere between late January and mid-February, and two consecutive years can be three weeks or more apart. That alone is reason enough not to copy last year's schedule: the production window you relied on may have moved a fortnight earlier. The working rule is to confirm next year's actual date at the start of each year and rebuild your plan backwards from it. And do not lean on a factory promising to "work through the holiday" — the sales office may reply to email, but the production line, the sub-suppliers and domestic transport will not be running. How many weeks do factories really stop? The official public holiday is far shorter than the industrial shutdown. Real lost capacity usually runs two to four weeks, sometimes longer at smaller plants, for three reasons: Before the holiday: many workers travel to distant home provinces days before the official start, so output tapers off gradually. During the holiday: a near-total stop covering the factory, raw material suppliers, domestic trucking and customs handling. After the holiday: the restart is gradual, not instant. A share of the workforce never returns and takes work in another city, so the plant needs weeks to reach full capacity. This is why an importer who plans around "one week off" is surprised by a month of delay. A safe planning range is three to five weeks of lost capacity around the holiday, adjusted for factory size and your own history with them. When should I place the pre-holiday order? Plan backwards from the date the goods must be in your warehouse, not forwards from today. Working in reverse: The date you need stock in the warehouse or your selling season starts. Minus transit and clearance: ocean freight from South China to the Gulf typically runs around 18 to 30 days depending on port and service, plus clearance and inland delivery days. Minus booking and handling: roughly a week from cartons sealed to vessel departure in normal conditions, longer in peak season. Minus pre-shipment inspection and time to close any findings: 5 to 10 days. Minus production time: often 25 to 45 days for standard goods, longer for custom items or anything needing tooling. Minus sampling and approval: two weeks to a month across first sample, review, revision and final sign-off. The typical result: issue the purchase order and pay the deposit at least three to four months before the holiday if you want the goods in hand beforehand. If you can accept post-holiday delivery, assume production will not resume seriously until about two weeks after the official return date. What does the annual China import calendar look like? MonthWhat happens in factories and portsWhat you should do JanuaryFinal rush before the holiday, new orders declined, congested portsClose out inspections and shipments; do not start a new product now FebruaryChinese New Year usually falls here or in late January; near-total shutdownLive off safety stock; use the time for planning and negotiation MarchGradual restart, labour shortages, changed lines and supervisorsInspect the first batch strictly; lock annual pricing AprilCanton Fair usually starts mid-month; factories busy with visitorsMeet suppliers, develop new products, expect slower replies MayLabour Day break in the first days, then stable outputAn excellent window for production and sampling JuneStable production; freight rates begin drifting upwardBook Q3 shipments early JulyOcean peak season toward Western markets beginsClose year-end orders; fix freight rates AugustPeak volumes, space shortages, typhoon season can close southern portsAdd a two-week buffer to any critical shipment SeptemberPre-Golden Week rush, heavy pressure on production and portsGet shipments out before month end OctoberGolden Week at the start, then the autumn Canton FairSchedule nothing for the first week; start the CNY plan NovemberLast practical window to start pre-holiday production; 11.11 strains domestic logisticsIssue purchase orders and pay deposits DecemberFactories full and rushing, so quality risk risesIncrease inspection; book containers early These dates are approximate. Chinese New Year moves each year, and fair and public holiday dates are announced annually. Confirm the real dates before you lock a schedule. Which other seasons squeeze the schedule? Golden Week (early October): a national holiday of roughly a week. Lighter than CNY, but easily enough to delay a critical shipment. Labour Day (early May): a short break of a few days, usually affecting domestic transport more than production. Canton Fair (April and October): excellent for meeting suppliers, but sales teams are away from their desks and replies and samples slow down. Ocean peak season (mid-summer into autumn): container demand rises ahead of Western selling seasons, so rates climb, space tightens and rolled bookings become more likely. Typhoon season: southern ports can close for days in late summer. Nobody controls it, so it belongs in your buffer rather than your excuses. What are the hidden risks after factories return? The bigger post-holiday risk is not delay but quality. The causes repeat every year: high workforce turnover puts untrained operators on unfamiliar lines, supervisors change, raw material comes from a substitute supplier because the original has not restarted, and everyone is under pressure to recover lost time. The result is that the first batch after the holiday is the highest-risk production run of the year. Practically: treat that batch as a new product launch rather than a repeat order. Ask for a production sample before the full run, inspect during manufacturing rather than only at the end, and lock the specification in writing before the shutdown so it is not renegotiated with a new team. Expect a price-increase conversation on return, justified by wages and materials; agreeing annual pricing before the break removes that round entirely. Annual planning checklist Have you confirmed next year's actual Chinese New Year date? Did you build the schedule backwards from the need-by date rather than forwards from today? Have you raised safety stock on your fastest-moving SKUs before the shutdown? Are annual prices and specifications locked in writing before the factory stops? Have you booked freight space early for peak months? Is enhanced inspection scheduled for the first post-holiday batch? Do you have a qualified alternate supplier for your top two SKUs? Have you added a two-week buffer to any shipment tied to a selling season? Practical takeaway Importing from China is not a steady year-round activity; it is a calendar with distinct seasons. Chinese New Year is the largest event: the date moves annually, real lost capacity runs two to four weeks, and the first batch after the break carries the highest quality risk of the year. Importers who plan backwards three to four months buy at normal prices with time to spare; those who wait buy at peak rates with no schedule flexibility left. At ALSHUMUL we build an annual calendar with the client that ties purchase order dates to inspection and ocean booking dates, and we deliberately tighten inspection on the first post-holiday batch, because most first-quarter problems are actually created the previous November. Share this article WhatsApp Facebook X TikTok Instagram Copy link All questions → All services → Back to the blog → Frequently asked questions on this topic The questions most often asked before importing from China: costs, factories, quality, shipping and payment. All questions → What is the exact date of Chinese New Year? – There is no fixed date because the holiday follows the Chinese lunar calendar. It falls between late January and mid-February, and two consecutive years can differ by three weeks or more. Do not copy last year’s schedule. Confirm next year’s actual date early in the year, then rebuild your production and shipping plan backwards from it. How long do Chinese factories really stop? + The official holiday is much shorter than the industrial shutdown. Output tapers off days early because workers travel home, then almost everything stops, then the restart is gradual because a share of the workforce does not return. Plan on three to five weeks of lost capacity around the holiday, adjusting the estimate for factory size and your own history with them. When should I place the order to receive goods before the holiday? + Work backwards from your need-by date: transit and clearance, then booking and handling days, then pre-shipment inspection, then production time, then sample approval. The typical answer is to issue the purchase order and pay the deposit at least three to four months before the holiday, and earlier still for custom products or anything requiring new tooling. Why is the first post-holiday batch weaker in quality? + Several causes combine: high turnover puts new operators on lines they have not been trained for, supervisors change, raw material may come from a substitute supplier because the original has not restarted, and there is pressure to recover lost time. Treat that batch as a new launch: a production sample before the full run, and inspection during manufacturing rather than only at the end. Which other seasons affect my schedule? + Golden Week in early October stops work for around a week, Labour Day in early May for a few days, and the Canton Fair in April and October pulls sales teams away so replies and samples slow. On top of that, ocean peak season from mid-summer into autumn raises rates, tightens space and increases the chance of a rolled booking. Can a factory keep producing through the holiday if I pay more? + Rarely, and only partially. Even if a small team stays, raw material suppliers, domestic transport, clearance and most of the supply chain are closed, so the outcome is usually slow output with elevated quality risk. It is generally better to spend the same budget raising safety stock before the shutdown than buying a production promise that is hard to deliver. Related articles Sourcing 19.09.2026 · 16 min read Canton Fair Autumn 2026 Guide: Dates, Phases, Registration and What to Know Before You Travel What visitors need for the 140th Canton Fair in Guangzhou: dates and products for the three phases, pre-registration and badge collection, getting there, on-site se… Read the article → Sourcing 18.09.2026 · 10 min read China Visa for the Canton Fair, Autumn 2026: Who Needs One and How to Apply A practical guide for overseas buyers: whether your nationality needs a visa to visit the Canton Fair in October 2026, how to generate the fair’s invitation letter,… Read the article → Sourcing 07.08.2026 · 5 min read Safe Payment Methods for Chinese Factories: T/T, Letters of Credit and Platform Escrow A practical comparison of payment options when importing from China: T/T bank transfers and deposit splits, letters of credit, documentary collection and platform e… Read the article →