The impact of the Chinese Lunar New Year on logistics and supply chain

Production link
Factory shutdown and production reduction: The Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival in China. A large number of factories will take holidays in advance, generally shutting down for about 2 to 4 weeks, resulting in production stagnation and interruption of goods supply, affecting the supply of goods in the global market.
Slow recovery of production capacity: It takes a certain amount of time for factories to resume production after the festival. It usually takes 1-2 weeks or even longer after the New Year to gradually return to normal production capacity, which delays the overall production progress.
Labor
Manpower shortage: A considerable number of workers take holidays during the Lunar New Year to reunite with their families. The number of staff in ports, logistics companies, factories and other links is reduced, resulting in a labor shortage, affecting the normal operation of cargo loading and unloading, transportation, warehousing and other operations.
Reduced work efficiency: Even if some personnel stick to their posts, due to factors such as the festive atmosphere, their work efficiency may not be as good as usual, further affecting the operation efficiency of logistics and supply chains.
Transport link
Increased demand and tight capacity: Before the Spring Festival, companies will advance shipping and other transportation needs in order to ship goods before the holiday, resulting in tight capacity. At the same time, people's demand for New Year's goods delivery has increased, and the national express delivery business is running at a high level, which has also increased the demand for transportation, which is likely to cause problems such as container shortages, transportation delays and increased transportation costs.
Port congestion: As a trade center, China's ports will be congested before the Spring Festival. Road, rail and air transportation networks will also experience serious delays due to increased traffic and holiday labor shortages, affecting the transportation efficiency of goods in and out of factories, distribution centers and ports.
Rising freight rates: Increased demand and insufficient supply have led to rising freight rates, and during the Lunar New Year, there will be high freight rates and additional peak season surcharges. In addition, due to the large volume of freight, the time for documents and customs clearance also increases, further affecting the transportation time and cost of goods.
Flight cancellations and suspensions: The reduction in labor may lead to more flight cancellations and suspensions, resulting in temporary freight fluctuations, affecting the timeliness and stability of air transportation.
Warehousing link
Inventory backlogs and shortages coexist: In order to cope with production shutdowns and transportation delays during the Spring Festival holiday, some companies will increase inventory in advance, resulting in increased storage pressure; while other companies may have insufficient inventory due to inaccurate forecasts or other reasons, affecting production and sales after the holiday.
Reduced warehouse operation efficiency: During the Spring Festival, the number of warehouse staff is reduced, and the operation process may be affected, resulting in reduced efficiency in the entry and exit of goods, affecting the overall circulation speed of the supply chain.

Therefore, customers who need to ship before the Lunar New Year need to hurry up and place orders without delaying the shipping date.