What to expect after China’s Golden Week

30 September 2024

As you know, people in China celebrate ‘Golden Week’ during the first week of October. During this week, the entire country has a bank holiday and production is at a standstill. The large fluctuations in cargo supply around Golden Week tend to cause problems for importers. What will you need to consider in the period after Golden Week?

Golden week has an impact on cargo supply and capacity

Cargo supply around Golden Week, which takes place this year from 1 to 7 October, always varies greatly. For example, importers want to ship the last goods quickly before this week, so cargo supply is high. Goods that cannot be shipped because the boat is full will not be shipped until after Golden Week.

In fact, many sailings are cancelled after Golden Week because factories have been on shutdown for a week and there is not enough cargo to fill the ships. This creates fluctuations in sailing schedules after the festivities and puts (additional) pressure on available cargo space.

Additional blank sailings & rollovers

Compared to last year, this year is much quieter for shipping from Asia. As a response to the drop in supply, more blank sailings will be announced. This could eventually cause space shortages and rollovers.

Rollovers are caused by improper use of capacity. Shippers often book more space than necessary. Shipping companies respond to this by no longer trusting the volumes reported, which in turn leads them to take more bookings than they can dispose of.

Eventually a situation arises where cargo supply and space are not balanced. Together with blank sailings, this could possibly cause disruption after the Golden Week.

End of dropping rates not yet in sight

Sea freight rates have started to fall sharply since the summer. And, in the run-up to Golden Week, rates are dropping even faster and in larger increments.

Cargo supply will continue to decline in the coming weeks, which naturally affects the level of sea freight rates. Your sales contact will keep you informed.

No more surprises

Of course, you don’t want your shipment to incur unnecessary delays. To avoid this, it is important for importers to take into account all (inter)national holidays. Our digital public holiday calendar will help you do just that. This calendar provides a quick and easy overview of all public holidays at a glance.

If you have any questions about the Golden Week or what this means for your shipments, please contact your dedicated Ritra Cargo contact person.