November 6, 2026. Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday, February 6, 11 days earlier than in 2026, when the holiday began on February 17. In its Asia Pacific market update today, Maersk said supply chain planning moves forward accordingly.
What Maersk recommends
Maersk asks shippers to confirm three things with suppliers early: production schedules, cargo-ready dates and container equipment needs. For air cargo, it suggests confirming factory closure dates and scheduling priority shipments before the holiday. Other peak-season dates in the update:
- November 11, Singles' Day: promotions can trigger urgent replenishment on some lanes; confirm space for time-sensitive cargo.
- November 27–30, Black Friday and Cyber Monday: retail restocking overlaps with tech and industrial cargo; share forecasts early and confirm bookings.
- February 6, 2027, Chinese New Year: confirm production, cargo dates and equipment in advance.
In Hong Kong, the official 2027 Lunar New Year holiday runs from Saturday, February 6 to Tuesday, February 9, according to the South China Morning Post. Mainland factories set their own calendars, so ask each supplier for its exact closing and return dates.
Ports flowing better, air demand rising
Maersk says strong Asian export activity "continues to put pressure on some congested ports," but no Asian port in its vessel waiting table exceeds 3 days: Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao, Yantian, Shekou, Nansha and Hong Kong are at 1–3 days, and Dalian, Xingang and Xiamen under one day. Citing Drewry, it reports average port waiting time fell 16 % in October from September, to 1.4 days.
IATA said on October 29 that global air cargo demand grew 7.7 % year on year in September: Asia-Pacific airlines +8.6 %, Latin American and Caribbean airlines +6.7 %, and Asia–North America +17.0 %.
Work back from the date you need the goods
Our take: with smoother Asian ports and an earlier holiday, the window to get goods out before factories close is shorter than last year, and buyers who plan now have the advantage.
- Get the supplier's closing date, return date and cargo-ready date in writing.
- Add ocean transit and customs clearance; book sea freight early.
- For urgent or low-volume parts, compare air freight before peak season.
- Run the product inspection before the factory closes, since a defect found afterwards can take weeks to fix.
