Starting each year with the Spring Festival and ending with the Lantern Festival, this festive period is a real break in the frenzy of the world’s leading manufacturing country. By tradition, almost all of the country’s countless factories are shut down. A truce that doesn’t just concern China.
On our planet’s seas and oceans, some cargo ships disappear for weeks at a time.
Factories are at a standstill. Ports at a standstill . So where do the boats go? Well, they stay in port, at anchor, traveling light or trying to get to lands that are still working.
“ The country is literally at a standstill, as workers head home,” explains Frédéric Mercier. At the head of transport company Mathez Freight, the Frenchman is perfectly aware of this slack period, a sort of pause in the unstoppable flow of global logistics. “ Real professionals in the sector know this, and they anticipate. That’s why there’s a peak season before every New Year. Companies rush to get their goods delivered or shipped before everything grinds to a halt. “
The number of containers shipped to Europe falls by 60% during this festive period.
According to the director of Isemar, the slowdown takes place in three phases. ” First a sharp slowdown in production, then a slowdown in logistics, and finally an impact on shipping. The oceans are being emptied of ships. It’s almost like a collapse. ”
On its website, the giant Alibaba warns shoppers that disruptions start “ten to fifteen days before the New Year” and can extend “up to two weeks” after this festive period.
In the run-up to the shutdown, Europeans are doing everything they can to anticipate the shutdown and keep their order books running at maximum capacity. « In general, we build up stocks to be able to do this. Traffic is accelerated before and after. And during the period, we see blank sailings, i.e. shipping lines canceling certain rotations. . It’s not just shipping. The Lunar New Year also has an impact on air and rail freight. On ne peut pas tout arrêter mais on peut le réduire “says Frédéric Mercier of Mathez Freight.
And for those who forget?
The virtual shutdown of sea freight can have serious consequences for those who fail to anticipate it. If a car manufacturer hasn’t ordered enough electronic cards to assemble its cars, it will have to pay dearly to buy a few examples. Or they’ll have to wait. But be careful. If your goods are left to rot in a deserted port, you’ll have to pay storage penalties known as demurrage .
