The year of the OX

Year of the OX  – Chinese New Year.February 11 to February 26^th 2021. Why do we experience huge delays at this time of year out of China and Taiwan? 

The CNY 2021 holiday, on the calendar lasts only 7 to 14 days but the disruption it causes in manufacturing can be of up to 40 days.

60% of products come directly from China so it will affect most overseas orders between now and early March.  A great point to note however from 2020 is manufacturing in our industry in Australia has slowly increased and even though we experience slight delays due to high volumes of production, we do have an alternative.

Factories in China can shut down for up to 3 weeks at this time of year, this is mainly due to the fact that workers travel home for CNY up to 2000 KM away. It does not matter how far one’s family is, be sure that factory workers will go back home to spend the CNY holiday with relatives and friends. For most Chinese factory workers, this is the only time of the year when they get to see their parents and/or even their children, who many times, are raised by other relatives living in the countryside. Most factory workers in mainland China are immigrants from remote and rural areas of the vast country. For many, going back home by public transportation – bus and train – may take 4 to 5 days in any direction.

 Business slows down from pre-CNY as the workers often leave early to go home making less workers available in the factories.  Many workers also decide not to go back to work and stay at home after CNY.  During the holiday break, workers spend time with their family members and friends, during these encounters, they share information on various wage levels and new employment opportunities; if sure, they will be able to find a higher paying job somewhere else; they surely won’t hesitate to ghost their current employer. 

As many people leave their job it is also easy to find a new job, so this is the time for a big game of musical chairs. 

Many workers make their return-to-work dependent upon a pay raise. Workers know that the CNY holiday is a sensitive time for the factory as orders keep coming in and customers’ pressure increases- they feel they are in control.

CNY is the main holiday for the Chinese People.  They work over our Christmas/New Year only stopping for CNY.  Unfortunately, in 2021 with COVID19 we could have further delays, with workers travelling all over the country the Government will need to put in many measures to ensure manufacturing continues at the end of CNY, unlike 2020 when workers could not travel back to work due to border closures caused by COVID19.

Rest assured, we know all the delays and what alternative is best for your company merchandise, Just ask us, we are the professionals.