UK businesses sourcing goods from China and across Asia are being urged to bring forward their Lunar New Year supply-chain planning, after the 2027 holiday falls 11 days earlier than it did in 2026.
Lunar New Year will take place on Saturday 6 February 2027, compared with 17 February in 2026. The earlier date on the Gregorian calendar compresses the time available to businesses placing orders, completing production and securing freight before factories and logistics networks begin their pre-holiday slowdown. The date is confirmed by the Hong Kong Observatory’s Gregorian-Lunar calendar.
SEKO Logistics is warning that businesses which rely on the previous year’s dates when planning production and shipping could find themselves with significantly less runway than expected. SEKO’s existing Lunar New Year supply-chain planning guide outlines the wider production, freight and inventory considerations businesses should account for.
“Most businesses plan Lunar New Year from memory of the previous year. In 2027, that can leave them with almost two weeks less planning runway than they expect.”
“Eleven days may not sound significant, but when those days come directly out of the production calendar, they can be the difference between an order being completed and shipped before the holiday or being pushed into an increasingly congested pre-holiday window.
“For businesses sourcing from China and Vietnam, the planning window for 2027 is already open,” added Paul Lockwood, Managing Director, SEKO Logistics UK & Ireland.
The 2027 Lunar New Year countdown has already begun
The earlier holiday date means key supply-chain milestones need to move forward accordingly and businesses should also account for a period of reduced production capacity after the holiday itself.
For businesses importing from Asia, SEKO recommends using the following planning timetable:
| Supply-Chain Milestone | Recommended Planning Window | Key Focus & Operational Impact |
| Complex / Custom Orders | August–September 2026 | Finalise specifications early to beat factory capacity cutoffs. |
| Standard Orders | September–October 2026 | Issue POs before suppliers freeze Q4 production schedules. |
| Production Completion | Late Nov–Early Dec 2026 | Complete manufacturing before pre-holiday worker migration begins. |
| Freight Bookings Secured | Dec 2026–Jan 2027 | Lock in ocean/air capacity before peak shipping surcharges hit. |
| Pre-Holiday Departure | January 2027 | Ensure cargo moves out of port before regional transport grinds to a halt. |
| Lunar New Year | 6 February 2027 | Factory closures and holiday slowdown officially begin. |
| Post-holiday production recovery | February–March 2027 | Allow several weeks for factories and workforce capacity to return to normal;
production and fulfilment may remain constrained after reopening. |
The exact timing will vary by supplier, product and origin, but businesses should not assume that factories will continue accepting orders until the holiday itself or that production will immediately return to normal once the holiday ends.
Many factories begin reducing production capacity and closing production lines several weeks before Lunar New Year. Logistics networks can also experience increased demand as businesses bring shipments forward, while reduced trucking and warehouse capacity can create additional pressure on the journey from factory to port.
The disruption can also continue after the holiday. SEKO’s supply-chain guidance highlights the potential for production capacity to take several weeks to return to normal as workers travel home for the holiday and some do not return to their previous employers.
What the 11-day shift means for UK importers
The timing matters because China remains one of the UK’s most important trading partners.
UK goods imports from China totalled £74.9 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2026, according to the UK Government’s China trade and investment factsheet. For UK retailers, manufacturers and e-commerce businesses sourcing at scale, even a relatively small change to the production calendar can have consequences further down the supply chain.
A delayed production run can mean a later vessel departure. A later vessel departure can push inventory beyond an intended restocking date. And for seasonal or fast-moving products, a missed replenishment window can translate into lost sales or expensive last-minute freight.
The risk is particularly relevant to businesses sourcing products with long production lead times, customised specifications or limited alternative suppliers.
How SEKO advises clients to plan
SEKO’s client solutions team works with importers throughout the year to build Lunar New Year contingency into production and freight planning. Dan Eckett, Client Solutions Group Director, SEKO Logistics UK & Ireland, said early engagement and realistic booking timeframes are the most common gap between businesses that navigate the holiday smoothly and those that do not:
“We advise clients to engage with suppliers well in advance of Chinese New Year and secure bookings at least three weeks ahead of shipment readiness to protect carrier capacity. It’s important to build contingency into planning, maintain visibility of production timelines and understand exactly when individual suppliers intend to close and reopen operations.
“Ideally, planning discussions should start three months before Chinese New Year. This provides sufficient time to review forecasts, align production schedules with suppliers and ensure inventory and transport plans are in place before the market begins to experience capacity constraints.”
Ocean freight is typically the first area to feel the pressure.
“Ocean freight is heavily impacted in the weeks leading up to Chinese New Year, as exporters accelerate shipments ahead of factory closures. This creates pressure on vessel space, equipment availability and carrier schedules, so we typically recommend building an additional one to two weeks into transit plans and ensuring suppliers place bookings are confirmed well before that three-week threshold, not after it.
Stock forecasting needs to extend beyond the shutdown itself, into the recovery period that follows.
“For UK importers, stock forecasting should account for both the shutdown period and the recovery phase. While factories may reopen shortly after the holiday, many operate with reduced staffing levels into March, which can affect production output and lead times. We encourage clients to hold appropriate inventory buffers to maintain product availability and avoid disruption to customer demand.”
For businesses sourcing from Asia, the key message is simple: Lunar New Year 2027 may be months away, but the planning deadline is not.
The holiday arrives 11 days earlier than it did in 2026, and those 11 days are coming directly out of the supply-chain planning calendar.
