Chinese New Year is the most important festival in China and many other Asian countries, and one of the biggest holiday celebrations in the world. The new year begins on February 1st, 2022 and marks the beginning of the year of the tiger. Businesses and factories in China close between 31 January and 6 February 2022, some longer.
Even in an average year, the Chinese New Year would cause plenty of pressure on supply chains and logistics, and we advise our clients to be prepared. Since the beginning of the covid pandemic, there have been frequent shortages of containers, longer-than-usual transport times and significant rises in freight rates in the Far East to Europe traffic. In these changed circumstances we recommend the Chinese New Year to be taken into account even earlier than usual when planning orders and transport.
For shipments that need to be sent from China before the holiday season, buyers should contact their suppliers as soon as possible to ensure that the goods are ready on time. Especially for full containers, it is advisable to check with Varova the availability of cargo space by either sea or rail.
In rail transport, freight space is at the moment still available for selected December and January departures for both full containers and general cargo. As we get closer to the Chinese New Year, the large volume of goods leaving for Europe will create additional demand for rail freight, which could also lead to border congestion and longer transport times.
For the most urgent shipments, the alternative is air freight, where it is also worth considering the congestion in China’s domestic transportation which may affect deliveries to airports before the Chinese New Year.
Your contact persons in Varova will provide further details if needed.