Image
When is Golden Week?
This annual Chinese national holiday begins October 1st and ends October 7th. It typically follows another celebration called Mid-Autumn Festival.
When did Golden Week start?
Golden Week began in 1950 and is meant to commemorate the founding of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) the year prior.
How is Golden Week celebrated?
This week-long period is celebrated very differently than the Golden Week for Chinese New Year when people travel to return home to see family. National Day Golden Week is a time meant for vacation, traveling, and tourism.
How does Golden Week impact manufacturing?
Because so many people, including workers at manufacturing facilities, travel and vacation during this time, the country experiences a type of shutdown similar to Chinese New Year. Many businesses, schools, and agencies that are not part of the tourism industry will be closed for the entire span of Golden Week.
Therefore, production that falls during the October Golden Week may be delayed to account for a factory closure.
The biggest disruption to manufacturing during Golden Week is in the post production: shipping your goods globally. Before Golden Week, the demand on logistics increases. During Golden Week, some ocean freight carriers even shutdown and do not sail during this timeframe.
With a shortage of vessels during this week, freight capacity is the next item to be concerned about. Many companies start ramping up production to ship goods before the Golden Week. This extra demand, on top of the already increased global demand for goods, means that the available containers are filling rather quickly.
To compound on the delays from the holiday, we still are seeing many issues that have arisen out of the pandemic: high cargo demand, staff shortages, port closures, and limited shipping containers.
How to Prepare for Factory Closures during National Day Golden Week
The best way to prepare for Golden Week is to have selected a good, transparent contract manufacturer (CM). The best CM’s will have already planned their schedules in advance to accommodate their holiday schedule and the potential delays in shipping. They’ll also then communicate this to you as part of the planning of your product’s production and shipping timeline. If you haven’t chosen a partner to manufacture your product yet, read here on how to qualify a good EMS partner.
The factory closures and shipping delays from Golden Week will impact your production and shipping schedule. It’s important to be aware of this holiday, especially if you’re planning to have your product stocked in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Avoid unexpected delays by partnering with a contract manufacturer that will take into account the various impacts from Golden Week.
