Are you worried about China shipping delays? It’s Ok! We understand it’s really frustrating to wait for your shipment for months, it directly affects the supply chain, and overall shipping cost as well as makes customers unhappy. But you just relax! This article is a crash course to make your shipping straightforward.

This article will unfold several main reasons for China shipping delays, key strategies to overcome this problem, and many more. So keep learning and make your shipping smoother!

Freight shipments from China continue to experience delays in 2024 due to several economic factors, complex challenges and some other disruptions. Let’s discuss the most common among them;

Port congestion remains one of the reasons why shipments remain late. In the case of the major ports of China which are Shanghai, Ningbo and Shenzhen, the volume of cargo imported or exported is enormous. In 2022 Shanghai Port handled the equivalent of over 47 million TEUs and reclaimed first place in the world in terms of material cargo volume.

Yes! And this rapid growth creates problems irrespective of how good the staffing or weather is. There have been instances where ships have had to wait for days or even weeks just to get loaded or unloaded and this has led to long overdue deliveries.

Labour Shortages still remain an intractable problem, especially for ports and logistics. Quite a number of industries in China remain understaffed, particularly in the areas of truck drivers and freight handling at seaports. Transportation of goods to ports from factories or vice-versa has been halted because of a lack of enough drivers.

Some of these are because of an ageing problem in some sectors or there may be some labour striking.

Shipping container imbalance brings about delays in transshipments. Due to the past disruptions of the global supply chain, a lot of containers actually ended up being stuck in some ports, especially in Asia, Europe and America. Thus, there are insufficient containers in the country which makes it problematic for the exporters when filling the containers with their merchandise.

Even though the prices for containers have decreased substantially by about 40% in the year 2023, the eternal container imbalance issue presents various delays to businesses seeking to satisfy the global marketplace.

The appetite for goods produced in China is still creating more and more pressure on shipping lines especially from the e-commerce and manufacturing industries. With more companies looking to source products from China, the booking of vessels is often backed up which causes damage.

And you will be amazed to know, at the peak of the pandemic the shipping price of a forty-foot container rose from about two thousand dollars to twenty thousand dollars.

The recent trade war between the US and China fundamentally fuels the current noticeable drops in the volume of freight shipments. Sanctions tariffs, trade barriers, and the new rules concerning exporting impeded the shipping lines by changing the normal course of the cargo, ultimately affecting the time of arrival by land or sea.

Energy shortages in parts of China at certain times of the year also caused further delays in shipments. Power cuts have led to the reduced operational speed in factories. This deceleration has a knock-on effect as schedules on shipment are adversely affected as products manufactured reach the shipping period late.

National holidays in China, including the Lunar New Year and the Golden Week, cause especially big shipping delays from China. Observe that factories and businesses are off for some weeks or even days during these time periods. It makes all order processing bottleneck especially when business returns to normal.

For example, during New Year’s time, both shipment delays from China and port congestion can be experienced for around one month. It is due to a slowdown in manufacturing, logistics, and congestion at ports when workers come back from the holidays to work.

Customs inspections are another reason contributing to more delays. For instance, because of diligence requirements for China goods bound for export, customs inspection in China may take longer than usual. Unusual situations such as discrepancies in the documentation, unscheduled inspections or changes in the client’s customs policies can cause delays in the border clearance of a container.

It is worth noting that such delays are likely to last for a while given how complex global supply mechanisms are. To figure out these problems, let’s move ahead towards the next section.

It is not simple, overcoming shipping delays China is such a nightmare, that one leads businesses to think of moving their operations elsewhere. Have a seat! To assist you, here we will discuss several working strategies that are likely to help in reducing delays, obstacles and discomfort in the course of ordering and shipping goods.

One of the most effective strategies is to diversify your supplier base. Yes! If you are feeling some extra delays then you have no need to stick to just one supplier, you can move to another one. Apart from this, there are other real situations that need to be dealt with. Such companies can post their goods via some not-that-crowded ports such as Dalian and Qingdao while in the case of Shanghai or Shenzhen, it would be not that easy.

Another strategy to combat shipping delays is optimizing the availability of goods. Companies operating on just-in-time inventory models need to change their approach and start stockpiling more safety stock, especially when dealing with elongated lead times for orders.

Such inventories reduce the cost of lost sales due to shipping interruptions because they provide a source of goods to serve customer demand until normal shipments resume.

Air cargo gratefully is a more costly option as compared to sea shipping. It readily comes to the aid of those in the most urgent or time against shipment. Air freight is one type of transport used to move goods which reduces considerably the time taken to send packages from weeks to only days. Therefore, it is more particular to use it in the shipment of heavy valuables.

In 2021, the volume of air freight into China increased by over 25% as companies sought faster means than maritime shipping. This option may not be the most economical for all types of products, but it will speed up the delivery of crucial shipments.

Documentation is important for securing efficient customs clearance and in ensuring that goods are shipped within the scheduled period. Failure to do so results in unnecessary delays at the Chinese seaports and land borders. These problems include incomplete filing of documents that they are expected to take, such as commercial invoices, sale contracts, bills of lading, certificates of origin and packing lists.

But this digital era allows businesses to stay current to avoid making all sorts of unnecessary delays. In 2023, many companies faced the challenge and adopted automated documentation systems, most of them reported 15% in lowering their customs delay. This is all due to the efficiency and the high speed of paperwork processing.

Technology can help overcome challenges such as predicting and managing the consternating problem of delays in shipping from China. Real-time tracking of shipments (or transshipments) and analysis of data to check for likely delays have seen many companies resort to these digital methods.

Digital tools are also used to assess port congestion, the weather status, as well as the schedules of vessels. Hence, the companies can change their logistics. For example, vessels and voyages can be predicted and if there are high chances of late shipment people can make decisions to change the means of transporting the goods or redirecting them to other locations. One survey done in 2022 ranks 70% of the executives of companies that have adopted digital means of tracking products report that the visibility of the supply chain has improved.

Shipping by companies that observe the holidays back in China leads to delays in shipping critical deliveries with spikes. It is most notable during holidays like the Lunar New Year or the Golden Week holiday.

Businesses should take preventive measures by rescheduling their manufacturing processes and placing orders long before these holidays come. In 2023, companies that made orders 2-3 months ahead of the Lunar New Year avoided any notable delays which came as a shock to many others. However, it is crucial for manufacturers to coordinate with suppliers and move production schedules around the holidays to avoid unexpected delays.

Trade restrictions and tariffs can be the reason if your China shipping delayed. In an effort to ease the geopolitical tensions, you should learn the rules of trade, and modify attaining goods to trade within the region by considering the political class. Their composition makes it easier for companies to avoid taxes associated with trade wars, working with tariff codes.

Figuring out container shortage issues can be important in minimizing delays. There are 3 ways in which they can do so; by outsourcing their container needs to other shipping companies especially those with a large fleet of containers. Furthermore, they may also think of leasing (borrowing for some time) their containers to achieve some long-term cost advantages.

So in 2021 several companies went ahead and made such steps so that they could have containers in sufficient quantities at these peak periods. Therefore having a good stock of containers, helps such businesses to eliminate the time necessary for the shipment of goods.

Reinforcing partnerships with trusted freight forwarding companies is integral. Forwarders with their wide networks and more knowledge of complex transport means that businesses will not have all their problems when there are delays. By interacting with forwarders, organizations will also be able to get live information on the status of their goods and look for other shipping alternatives if the main shipping routes are busy. Trusted freight forwarders also assist in custom paperwork which is vital in reducing import procedures hence eliminating border delays.

So, to help you out in choosing a trustworthy freight forwarder, the very next portion is going to dictate how to choose the best freight forwarder.

In order to avoid possible delays when sourcing a reliable freight forwarder from China, there are several key points to consider that should always highlight:

• Experience: Opt for a forwarder who has in the past handled exports from China. Such a forwarder will know how to get around and manage the busiest ports very well as Shanghai, Shenzhen and other busy ports. 

• Carrier network: A strong network with shipping lines, airlines, and sometimes local transport providers is of great necessity. This is important as this caters for priority bookings and alternative routes if there is congestion. In 2021, for example, during peak delays, strategic forwarders managed to get places on overbooked vessels and therefore cut down on waiting periods. 

• Customs Expertise: Customs issues are a fundamental source of delays. Select a forwarder who has been effective with the customs clearance processes. A reliable forwarder is aware of changing rules and policies and reduces the chances of the cargo being stuck. 

• Tracking and Transparency: Use a forwarder who has introduced online tracking and is ready to communicate frequently. In 2022, 70% of businesses which utilized digital tools in tracking their shipments reported fewer delays, thanks to better visibility of the status of the shipment. 

• Local Knowledge: For quick shipments, a forwarder who is deeply rooted in the area will be able to manage transportation and storage problems for quicker dispatch.

If you want to avail all the above-described characteristics, then Contact Winsky freight that offer an all-in-one shipping option. 

We offer air, sea and railway shipping. You can avail of quality service of door-to-door or port-to-port shipping at affordable prices. Apart from this, Winsky tries to deliver your cargo in the minimum time frame.