Chinese New Year 2026 falls on February 17, but practical factory impact spans late January through early March. For customers shipping orders during this period, planning ahead saves weeks of delay. Here's how we structure production scheduling around CNY and what we're doing specifically for 2026.
Chinese New Year is culturally the biggest holiday in China — comparable to Christmas in Western countries but with more extensive travel. Factory workers travel home, often by train or bus across long distances. The practical impact:
Additionally, workers returning to different jobs is a real phenomenon — factories may lose 10-30% of their workforce who accept higher-paying work elsewhere during the holiday break. Replacement hiring and training takes weeks.
For our customers, the practical schedule:
| Period | What's happening |
|---|---|
| Jan 10-31 | Full production, but prioritizing orders already in system. New orders accepted but not guaranteed to ship before CNY unless expedited. |
| Feb 1-14 | Reduced capacity. Only orders with confirmed pre-CNY ship dates being processed. No new standard-lead orders accepted. |
| Feb 15-22 | Factory closed. Email coverage only for ongoing order questions. |
| Feb 23-Mar 2 | Factory reopening. 40-60% capacity. Orders from pre-CNY queue processed first. |
| Mar 3 onwards | Full capacity. Normal lead times resume. |
Material sourcing during this window is particularly affected — stainless, titanium, and specialty alloy suppliers also observe CNY. Certified materials (AMS, ASTM) can be delayed 3-4 weeks after official holiday ends.
Submit orders by early January for guaranteed pre-CNY shipment. Orders submitted in late January may or may not complete before the break — we'll tell you honestly when confirmation isn't possible.
Same principle applies but with more flexibility. Simple prototypes (1-5 units) can often squeeze through the late January window. Complex prototypes with new materials or specialty finishes are better delayed to early March.
For blanket orders or scheduled production, we build CNY buffer into the shipping schedule. Customers shipping monthly typically see an extended gap in February but normal schedule resumes in March.
We maintain email coverage during the factory closure for ongoing order questions. Response times will be slower (12-24 hours) but you won't be ignored. For truly urgent matters, we have after-hours contacts.
Some factories advertise "we stay open during Chinese New Year." In practice, this means:
We don't do this. A January-February production gap is better than parts with quality issues that cause rework cost, customer rejection, or field problems. Our factory closes fully, workers travel home, and we resume with full staff and full quality systems.
For customers with genuine February delivery needs, the solution is early January ordering, not squeezing production through an understaffed factory.
Email [email protected] — we reply within 1 business day. Our engineering team writes these posts and handles customer questions directly.
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