Shipping & Lead Times
Sea freight, air freight and production lead time planning.
1. Why it matters
Lead time is production time plus transit time plus the buffers nobody quotes: sampling, QC, booking, and customs. Buyers who plan only for the factory's "25 days" miss the 30-40 days of ocean transit and the week of clearance — and then blame the supplier for a delay that was really a planning gap.
2. Mode trade-offs
| Mode | Typical transit (Asia→EU/US) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Air freight | 3-8 days | Samples, urgent, high-value/low-volume |
| Sea LCL | 30-45 days | Part loads under ~15 CBM |
| Sea FCL | 28-40 days | Full 20'/40' loads, best $/unit |
| Rail (China→EU) | 16-22 days | Middle ground on cost/speed |
3. Build the timeline backwards
Start from the date goods must be on your shelf and subtract each stage. Add buffers where they actually occur — most slippage is in sampling approval and pre-shipment QC, not the ocean leg.
- Sampling + approval: 7-15 days (often underestimated).
- Production: 15-30 days depending on MOQ and season.
- Pre-shipment QC + rework buffer: 3-7 days.
- Booking + port cutoff + sailing: schedule-dependent.
- Customs clearance at destination: 2-7 days.
4. Peak-season and holiday traps
Chinese New Year (late Jan-Feb) freezes production for 2-4 weeks and creates a booking crunch on both sides. Golden Week (early Oct) and Q4 peak also tighten capacity and rates. Place orders 6-8 weeks earlier around these windows.
5. Checklist
- Get lead time split into production vs transit
- Choose the mode by value density and deadline
- Back-plan from the required shelf date with buffers
- Add 2-4 weeks around Chinese New Year / Golden Week
- Confirm port cutoff and documents before the sailing