The Chinese New Year factory shutdown is the single biggest scheduling risk in a China supply chain, and every year it catches importers who assumed "one week of holiday" meant one week of delay. In practice, production in most factories stops for two to four weeks, runs at reduced speed before and after, and freight costs spike around it.
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on 6 February 2027. This guide gives you the real timeline, a month-by-month planning calendar from October to March, and the tactics our team uses with clients so that stock keeps flowing while the factories are dark.
Key takeaways
- CNY 2027 is 6 February. Factories close around the last week of January and restart from about 20 February, with slow output into March.
- Orders placed after early December 2026 usually cannot ship by sea before the holiday.
- Freight rates climb from December, space tightens in January, and blank sailings follow in late February.
- 20 to 30 percent of workers may not return, so inspect the first post-CNY batch more strictly than usual.
- The fix is calendar discipline: order by late November, pay deposits early, book freight early and hold safety stock through March.
When Chinese New Year 2027 falls and what "closed" really means
The official holiday for Spring Festival 2027 runs roughly 6 to 12 February. That is the period when banks, customs offices and government services pause. Factories follow a different clock.
Most production workers are migrants from inland provinces such as Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Henan and Guangxi. They need several days of travel each way, and many have not been home all year. Factories therefore release workers one to two weeks before the official holiday, and many workers do not return until one to two weeks after it. The result is a Chinese New Year factory closure of two to four weeks in most of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian, longer for small workshops.
Supporting industries join the Chinese New Year factory shutdown too. Your factory may reopen on 22 February, but its carton supplier, plating subcontractor and the trucking company it uses may not. Production is only as fast as the slowest link.
The real Chinese New Year factory shutdown timeline
Here is how the season plays out in a typical year, adjusted for the 2027 dates.
- Early to mid-December 2026: factories are full. New orders are quoted with "after CNY" delivery unless you have an existing slot. Deposits are chased hard because factories need cash for year-end bonuses.
- Early January 2027: final pre-holiday production runs. Overtime is high, and so is pressure to ship anything that is close to finished. Inspections booked this month need to be booked early; inspectors are fully loaded.
- Mid-January 2027: workers start leaving. Lines thin out. Last pickups for sea freight before the holiday happen around 20 to 25 January.
- 25 January to 20 February 2027: shutdown. Sales staff may answer messages from their hometowns, but nothing is being made.
- Late February 2027: factories reopen with partial staff. In our experience 20 to 30 percent of workers do not come back to the same factory, so recruitment and training run alongside the backlog.
- March 2027: output and quality return to normal by mid-to-late March. The first batches from new workers carry the highest defect rates of the year.
The practical rule: if your order needs 30 to 40 days of production plus a pre-shipment inspection, it must be confirmed and paid by late November 2026 to sail before the holiday. Anything placed after early December is a post-CNY order, however optimistic the sales rep sounds.
What CNY does to freight
Every importer tries to ship before the holiday at the same time, and carriers price accordingly. Sea freight rates from Shenzhen, Ningbo and Shanghai typically rise 30 to 100 percent between early December and late January, with peak season surcharges layered on top. Space on the cheapest services sells out first, and rolled containers become common at Yantian and Ningbo in mid-January.
After the holiday, volumes collapse for two to three weeks and carriers cancel sailings to protect rates. These blank sailings mean that even goods finished in late February may wait an extra week or two for a vessel. Air freight tightens in the final two weeks before the holiday as buyers panic-ship, then loosens quickly after.
If you are weighing modes for a pre-holiday shipment, our comparison of sea versus air freight from China covers the cost and transit trade-offs in detail. In most cases, a partial air shipment of the fastest-selling SKUs plus sea for the rest beats paying air on everything.
Chinese New Year factory shutdown planning calendar: October to March
| Month | Production actions | Freight and stock actions |
|---|---|---|
| October 2026 | Forecast demand through April 2027. Confirm suppliers' expected closure dates verbally. Place orders for long-lead or tooled products now. | Review stock cover; calculate how many weeks of inventory you need to reach early April arrivals. |
| November 2026 | Place all pre-CNY orders by the last week of the month. Pay deposits immediately so your slot is locked. Approve samples and packaging now, not in December. | Book sea freight for January departures. Lock rates with your forwarder where possible. |
| December 2026 | Chase production updates weekly with photos. Book pre-shipment inspections for early to mid-January. Agree in writing the exact last production day and restart date. | Confirm bookings and container pickups. Consider air for high-velocity SKUs that missed the sea cut-off. |
| January 2027 | Inspect and ship by 20 to 25 January. Anything unfinished is agreed as a post-CNY delivery with a new date in writing. Pay balances promptly so goods are released before staff leave. | Last sea departures around 25 January. Expect rolled bookings; have a backup forwarder. |
| February 2027 | Shutdown 25 January to around 20 February. Use the time to finalize specs, artwork and purchase orders for post-CNY production. Confirm the restart date again in the first week back. | Blank sailings late February. Run on safety stock. Track in-transit containers closely. |
| March 2027 | Production restarts. Insist on a first-article check and a stricter AQL on the first batch. Expect two to three weeks of slower output and some staff changes. | Rates and space normalize by mid-March. Resume regular bookings. Replenish safety stock. |
Tactics that keep stock flowing through the shutdown
- Place orders by late November. This is the single most important rule. Build it into your purchasing calendar every year, because the date moves: CNY 2028 is on 26 January, almost two weeks earlier than 2027.
- Pay deposits early. Factories schedule by paid orders, not by purchase orders. A deposit in the first week of December can be the difference between shipping in January and shipping in March.
- Book freight early and keep a backup forwarder. December bookings for January sailings secure space and better rates. Rolled containers are routine in mid-January; a second forwarder gives you options.
- Confirm the restart date in writing. Ask every supplier for the last production day, the holiday dates and the planned restart day, in writing, before mid-December. Then re-confirm in the first week after the holiday, when the real staffing picture is clear.
- Inspect the first post-CNY batch more strictly. Drop from AQL 2.5 to 1.5 on majors for the first order of the year, or add a during-production check. Our pre-shipment inspection checklist explains how to set these levels.
- Hold safety stock through March. Aim for enough inventory to cover sales from mid-January to early April arrivals. If cash is tight, prioritize the top 20 percent of SKUs by revenue.
- Negotiate a bigger pre-holiday run instead of two small ones. Suppliers often accept a lower MOQ or better price for an order that fills their December schedule. Our guide to negotiating MOQ with Chinese suppliers has the specifics.
- Keep spare components and packaging in China. A consolidation warehouse holding cartons, labels and accessories means the factory can restart your order immediately instead of waiting for its own suppliers.
If you want a second pair of hands on the ground during the pre-holiday rush, chasing factories, booking inspections and securing freight, message our team on WhatsApp and we will map your orders against the calendar. Our freight and logistics service handles the bookings and consolidation.
Other Chinese holidays that affect production
CNY is the big one, but four other holidays disrupt schedules every year and deserve a place in your calendar.
| Holiday | 2027 dates (approximate) | Typical factory impact |
|---|---|---|
| National Day Golden Week | 1 to 7 October | Full closure 5 to 7 days; ports and customs slow for a week after; freight rates rise in September |
| Labor Day | 1 to 5 May | 3 to 5 days closed; minor backlog |
| Dragon Boat Festival | Around 9 June | 1 to 3 days closed |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | Around 15 September | 1 to 3 days closed; in some years merges with Golden Week into a longer break |
| Qingming (Tomb Sweeping) | Around 5 April | 1 to 3 days closed |
Golden Week in October is the second most disruptive period. Factories push to ship before 30 September, and customs clearance at Shenzhen and Shanghai backs up for days after the holiday. Plan September orders with the same care as pre-CNY ones, on a smaller scale.
The short version
Treat the Chinese New Year factory shutdown, from mid-January to mid-March 2027, as lost production time and build your buying around it. Order by late November, pay deposits early, ship by 25 January, hold stock through March, and inspect the first batch of the new year harder than any other. Importers who do this every year rarely notice CNY. Importers who do not learn about it the expensive way.
Frequently asked questions
When do Chinese factories close for Chinese New Year 2027?
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on 6 February 2027. The official public holiday is about one week, but most factories stop production around 25 to 31 January 2027, as workers travel home early, and restart between 20 February and early March. Small workshops and factories with mostly migrant labor close the longest. Always confirm the exact dates in writing with each supplier.
How long is the Chinese New Year factory shutdown?
Plan for two to four weeks of zero output and another two to three weeks of reduced output after the restart. In total, assume production capacity is unreliable from mid-January to early March. Factories in Guangdong and Zhejiang that rely on workers from inland provinces are usually closed longest, since those workers take the longest to return.
What is the last date to place an order before Chinese New Year 2027?
For sea freight arriving before the shutdown, place orders by late November 2026 with a 30 to 40 day production time. Orders placed after early December will usually not ship until late February or March. If you must order in December, expect to pay for air freight or accept delivery after the holiday.
Why does quality drop after Chinese New Year?
Typically 20 to 30 percent of production workers do not return to the same factory after the holiday, so lines restart with new, untrained staff. Supervisors are stretched, suppliers of components are also restarting, and factories rush to clear the backlog. The first two to three weeks of post-CNY production carry the highest defect rates of the year, which is why we recommend a stricter inspection on the first batch.
Do shipping rates go up before Chinese New Year?
Yes. Sea freight rates from China typically rise 30 to 100 percent from early December through late January as every importer tries to ship before the holiday. Space is tight, carriers add peak season surcharges, and after CNY they cancel sailings (blank sailings) for several weeks because volumes drop. Air freight also tightens in the last two weeks before the holiday.
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