Chinese New Year 2027 Shipping: Deadlines and Planning

Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday, 6 February. To avoid delays, plan for production to finish and cargo to be booked by mid-January 2027: factories in China typically close for one to four weeks around the holiday, and air and sea space tightens in the weeks before it. Book early, and ask your forwarder for the actual cut-off dates of each service.

When is Chinese New Year 2027, and how long is the holiday?

The first day of the lunar new year — the Year of the Goat — is Saturday 6 February 2027. New Year's Eve, when most families gather, is Friday 5 February, and the festival season ends with the Lantern Festival on 20 February.

Since 2025, China's statutory Spring Festival holiday is four days: New Year's Eve and the first three days of the new year. Each year the General Office of the State Council publishes the exact arrangement, which combines the statutory days with weekends and adjusted working days. For 2026 that produced a nine-day break, from 15 to 23 February. Check the official notice for 2027 when it is published, usually toward the end of the previous year.

The statutory dates are not the whole story. Many factory workers travel home to other provinces, so factories often stop production a week or more before New Year's Eve and restart gradually afterwards. A supplier's real closure can run from one to four weeks, and it varies widely between companies.

How does the holiday affect shipping?

• Capacity squeeze before the break. Exporters try to move goods out before factories close, so container and air cargo space fills up and freight rates often rise.
• Slower production. Orders placed late in the year compete for fewer working days, and quality checks get rushed.
• Reduced services during the holiday. Ports and airports keep operating, but trucking, warehouses, customs brokers and suppliers work at reduced capacity or close.
• A slow restart. After the holiday, staff return over several weeks, so the first loads of the year can take longer to produce and ship.

None of this is unusual — it happens every year — but it rewards shippers who plan from November rather than January.

A planning timeline for Chinese New Year 2027

The timeline below is our recommendation for goods that must be in stock at destination around March and April 2027. Your exact dates depend on your suppliers, your mode and your destination.

Air, sea or rail before the holiday?

Work backwards from the date you need the goods. Sea freight from Shenzhen takes 14–16 days to Los Angeles / Long Beach and 22–25 days to European ports, before customs and delivery — so sea cargo for a March deadline should sail before the holiday. Our China–Europe rail line takes 16–19 days by rail plus UPS delivery, duties and taxes paid, and is a useful middle option for Europe.

Air freight is the fallback for goods that finish late: direct air consolidations to Europe can arrive 4–7 days after entering our warehouse, and air from Shenzhen or Hong Kong reaches LAX in 7–9 days plus delivery. Expect air space to be tight in the final weeks before the break. Our shipping routes page lists the methods and transit times for every destination, and the comparison table prices them side by side for your shipment.

Use the warehouse as a buffer

If your goods will be ready before the holiday but space is not, don't leave them at the factory. Suppliers can deliver to our Shenzhen warehouse, where we receive and check the goods, consolidate orders from several suppliers and ship them as space allows. Any free storage period and its conditions, along with handling charges, are confirmed with your quote. See warehousing and consolidation for what we can do with cartons while they wait.

Checklist before your suppliers close

1. Get each factory's closing and reopening dates in writing.
2. Inspect finished goods before the factory closes, not after it reopens.
3. Collect the commercial invoice, packing list and any MSDS or test reports you need.
4. Send FBA labels or shipping marks so cartons are labeled before dispatch.
5. Agree who holds goods that miss the last pickup, and where.
6. Send your forwarder the shipment details now, and ask for the cut-off date of each service.

The sooner we know your volumes, the sooner we can confirm space. Send your shipment details through the quote form, and your coordinator will confirm the cut-off dates for your route.