Free tool · Planning
When do you need to order from China?
Enter the date you need the goods in the UK. The planner works backwards through delivery, the voyage, inspection and production, allows for China’s holidays, and gives you the date to order by.
How the dates are worked out
- Sea freight is planned at 50 days, the top of the current 45–50 days with most ships going round the Cape of Good Hope. Air freight is planned at 8 days, the top of 5–8 days.
- Golden Week, China’s National Day holiday, runs from 1 to 7 October 2026. If production overlaps it, the plan adds a week.
- Chinese New Year is on 6 February 2027. Factories slow from mid-January and take two to four weeks to recover, so the planner warns if production falls between mid-January and early March 2027, and shows the date to order by to finish first.
A planning estimate, not a promise. Each factory sets its own holiday dates: ask for the last production day and the first day back in writing. The official 2027 holiday schedule had not been published as of September 2026. Read more in Chinese New Year 2027: order deadlines for UK importers.
More free tools for importers
- Container and CBM plannerTurn carton sizes into cubic metres and see how many fit a 20ft or 40ft container, in 3D.
- Container number checkCheck a container number is valid, see who owns the box and open the right tracking page.
- Plan my importFour short steps give one plan: landed cost, UK rules and documents, the order-by date and supplier checks.
- Landed-cost calculatorDuty, anti-dumping duty and import VAT for your product, from live UK Trade Tariff rates.
- Quote comparerPut up to four supplier quotes side by side and see which is really the cheapest to land.
- Supplier checkDecode the code on a Chinese business licence and run the warning signs before you pay.
Questions about lead times
How far ahead should I order from China?
Add up the production time, a few days for inspection and getting to the port, the time at sea (about 45 to 50 days to the UK via the Cape of Good Hope) and UK clearance and delivery. For a typical made-to-order product shipped by sea, that is often three months or more.
Do Chinese factories close for Golden Week?
China’s National Day holiday runs from 1 to 7 October 2026. Many factories close or slow down, so plan on losing that week of production.
When should I order for stock after Chinese New Year 2027?
Chinese New Year is on 6 February 2027. Factories slow from mid-January and take two to four weeks to recover afterwards. For goods in the UK by March 2027, orders should be placed by early November 2026.
Up against a deadline?
I can check what is still possible, find suppliers who can meet it and line up the inspection and freight.
Tell me what you need ->