5 Tips to Avoid Shipping and Producing Delay by Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year (CNY) of 2017 is getting closer.It's popularly known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year, is considered the most important holiday in China.The length of the holiday usually varies but most employers give workers up to three weeks off.So how to avoid shipping and producing delay by Chinese New Year.And here are some tips share to you.

1.Prepare a forecast to get you through CNY and beyond

Ask for a factory holiday schedule at least 30-45 days before CNY. No matter whether you are dealing with a trading company or a factory. Most factories are super busy in the last month before CNY, because every customer wants their products to be shipped out before CNY holidays. Arrange and plan your orders according to their holiday schedule in order to prevent unexpected delays.

2.Watch out the Latest Time for Shipping Your Cargo

If your cargo is shipped by FCL/LCL, you can keep in mind that the deadline of loading container is 3-4 days before CNY.

However, to avoid some unexpected condition, you'd better load your container little bit earlier. Imagine your cargo has been loaded during the deadline period, then running into custom inspection by China’s custom. This means your cargo will be delayed in the port, only can be shipped out after CNY holiday. The worse thing is you have to pay USD 300-400 for demurrage charge.

1 week ahead of CNY is the busy time for forwarders, as all the importers are eager to ship goods out before CNY. So the shipping fee is higher than usual. The forwarders will be back to work around 1 week after CNY, and their first working week is super busy as well. Because they have to ship out the cargoes which have been detained in China during CNY holiday.

After this busy week, it comes the export’s slack season, which will continue until April. And the shipping fee is lowest in this period.

3.Should Prepare Next Order before CNY?

Some suppliers may suggest you to place your next order (the one you want to place after CNY) before CNY holiday. The reason is that the price will be increased after holiday; but if you place your order in advance, the price will maintain the same, also will arrange your order in the first time when they back to work after holiday.

But I suggest NOT to listen to them if they are not your long-term suppliers. It's better to place the order after CNY. It means you need to pay the deposit in advance if you place it before CNY. Also most suppliers normally won't increase the price after the holiday, and maybe you will find other better suppliers at that time.

4.Develop a good trusting relationship with your supplier or manufacturer  

If you are sourcing from China and just beginning to build your relationship with a new supplier or manufacturer, it will be difficult to build that relationship in the months prior to Chinese New Year. During this period, all suppliers and manufacturers are under immense pressure. If your business is the newest on their account, it is very likely that your goods will be their last priority when it comes to order completion and deliveries before CNY period. If you are working with a manufacturing partner or sourcing company, ensure that they have experiences with handling the rush during this time. Make sure to ask what measures they have in place to help their clients plan for CNY. A big advantage of working with a manufacturing partner or sourcing company is that you can benefit from their trustworthy supplier/factory network that they have developed over the years. Sellers Union Group as a professional and reliable sourcing,purchasing export agency in Yiwu and Ningbo,can offer a full agent service with the best price.You can ensure that your products are shipped on time during the hectic CNY rush.

5.While you’re at it, plan ahead for other Chinese holidays as well.

Chinese New Year is the longest holiday period in China, but there are actually several other Chinese holidays that might affect your business. Here is an overview of all the other holidays in China. Most factories/suppliers will also be closed during these dates:

– Tomb sweeping day (Qing Ming Jie) April 5th – 7th 2018
– International labour day May 1st – 3rd 2018
– Dragon Boat festival June 18th 2018
– Mid-autumn festival/Moon festival September 24th 2018
– Golden week October 1st – 7th 2018