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Plan Ahead for China’s Golden Week 2026

From October 1 to October 7, 2026, China will observe the National Day Golden Week holiday. During this period, many factories, government agencies, and businesses will temporarily reduce or suspend operations, which may affect production schedules, transportation capacity, and cargo flows across global supply chains. To help minimize potential disruptions and maintain supply chain continuity, we encourage customers to review shipment plans, inventory levels, and logistics requirements well in advance of the holiday period.

What is Golden Week?
 
Golden Week is one of China’s most important annual holidays, characterized by extensive travel and reduced business activity across the country. Manufacturing, logistics, and administrative operations typically slow down during this period, creating temporary impacts on both domestic and international supply chains.
 
DACHSER in China will be closed from October 1 to October 7, 2026, and normal operations will resume on October 8, 2026.
 
Potential impact on supply chains
 
As the holiday approaches, many companies may accelerate shipments before factory closures, resulting a surge in demand for logistics services.
 
For ocean freight, carriers may adjust capacity and schedules during this period, including blank sailings and vessel omissions. This may result in tighter space availability, equipment shortages, increased drop-off and pick-up costs, and changes to sailing schedules. These factors may also affect service reliability and transit times.
 
For air freight, increased demand is expected from mid-September ahead of the holiday, which may put pressure on available capacity and booking lead times.
 
Following the holiday, cargo volumes and transportation schedules may take some time to normalize as operations gradually return to regular levels.
 
Recommended actions
 
To maintain supply chain efficiency, we recommend:
 
  • Plan ahead by aligning production schedules with suppliers and ensuring sufficient inventory levels before the holiday.
  • Share shipment forecasts early to support capacity planning and identify optimal transport solutions.
  • Book ocean freight in advance to reduce the risk of space constraints and schedule changes.
  • Anticipate increased air freight demand in mid-September and secure bookings as early as possible.

For shipment planning support or tailored logistics solutions, please contact your regular DACHSER representative. We're here to help keep your supply chain remain efficient through Golden Week and beyond.

DACHSER worldwide
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Contact Vernice Chu Communications Manager Asia Pacific
vernice.chu@dachser.com

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Sea freight market update | June 2022
  • Strikes at Germany and South Korea

In the German ports of Hamburg and Bremerhaven, the four-hour warning strike did  not lead to major vessel delays, however the suspension of handling operations at the terminals led to massive backlogs and later on the roads. This is expected to take a while to be resolved. In Asia, the eight-day strike in South Korea has come to an end and road transportation is returning to normal, but the it will take more time to clear the backlog.
 

  • Easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China

Lockdown relief in Shanghai will lead to an increase in export container volumes into Europe and on Transpacific Eastbound, which might cause space issues, empty equipment challenges and rising rate levels. On the Transpacific trade, rates are stable and  space is  adequate. Carriers expect a new rush of cargo to the US once the factories in China return  back to normal.

Trade Lane Update

EUROPE

Port congestion in Northern Europe continues to worsen. Very high slot densities at Northern European container terminals and bottlenecks in inland transport are aggravating port congestion problems in the trade between the Far East and Northern Europe.

Container ships operating on this route currently take an average of 101 days to complete a full round voyage. This means that on average they arrive 20 days too late in China to start  their next round trip, forcing carriers to blank sailings because no ship  is available.
 
Port Congestion EMEA

  • Belgium                     Antwerp 2 days
  • France                        Le Havre 1 day
  • Germany                   Bremerhaven 3 days
  •                                     Hamburg 6 days                                
  •                                     Wilhelmshaven 0 days
  • Italy                            Trieste 3 days
  • Netherlands             Rotterdam 2-3 days
  • Slovenia                    Koper 1 day
  • Spain                         Algeciras 1 day
  •                                    Valencia 1 day


Europe - Far East
Space is currently available but empty equipment is likely to be running short in the upcoming weeks.

Europe - South America East & West Coast
Space is overall tight but to South America East Coast it is slightly better than to South America West Coast. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is tight, especially the lack of containers in Inland Depots. Vessels often face large delays due to congested terminals. Carriers continue with schedule recovery measures, such as port omissions and blank sailings. The situation in Northern Europe Ports, including Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Antwerp are getting worse, due to strikes . It is recommended to place bookings well in advance, ideally 4 to 6 weeks before sailing.

Europe – Mexico
Space is very tight. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is tight, especially the lack of containers in Inland Depots. It is recommended to place bookings at least 5 to 6 weeks before sailing. Rates remain at a very high level and no rate reductions are expected in Q3. Vessels are frequently heavily delayed on all services. Especially if vessels have their first port call in the US. Carriers are looking into options to improve schedule reliability, but there are no service changes announced yet.

Europe – Indian Subcontinent
Space is available. Congestion and vessel delays are overall still ongoing in Northern and Southern Europe. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is improving while it is still tight in Southern Europe . Congestion in Sri Lanka is still not improving due to the political situation. 

ASIA

Port Congestion Asia

  • China Mainland             Ningbo: 7-10 days
  •                                         Dalian / Shanghai: 7-10 days
  •                                          Qingdao / Xingang: 7-10 days
  •                                          Nanjing / Xiamen: no congestion
  •                                          Yantian/ Shekou / Nansha: 7-10 days
  •                                          Hong Kong 7-10 days
  • India Subcontinent       Chittagong: 3-6 days.
  •                                          Colombo: Delays for containers going into Cochin.
  •                                          All other ports: no congestion
  • Indonesia                       Jakarta / Surabaya / Semarang: 2-3 days
  • Korea                              Busan / Incheon: 5-7 days
  • Malaysia                         Port Klang / Pasir Gudang / Tanjung Pelepas / Penang: 5-7 days      
  • Singapore                       No congestions for FCL containers, 
  •                                          some delays for LCL shipments depending on the carrier.
  • Taiwan                            Keelung / Kaohsiung / Taichung: 3-7 days
  • Thailand                         Bangkok: 7-10 days
  •                                          Laem Chabang: 2-3 days
  • Vietnam                          Haiphong Export / Import: 4-5 days
  •                                          Saigon Export / Import: 7-10 days


Far East - Europe
Space is generally available, depending on the carrier and loop. The empty equipment situation in Asia is still tight.

Far East – Mexico
The market is heating up, and space to Mexico is becoming an issue. Rates have increased, and for July further upward rate adjustments are expected.

Far East - South America East Coast
The empty equipment situation in Asia is very tight, especially in the North,  affecting large ports like Tianjin and Qingdao. As the situation in Shanghai gradually resumes to normal, space is becoming very tight. It is recommended to place bookings well in advance, ideally 3 to 4 weeks before sailing. Since June 01, 2022, rates have been increasing on a weekly basis.

Indian Subcontinent – Europe
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Transpacific Eastbound
Due to the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in China, space and equipment decreased . The situation is predicted to tighten again in July and August due to potentially high volumes. Supply and demand are currently under control, but this could change in the next month  due  to the predicted pick up of containers towards the US.
 
In South Korea, the Truckers’ Union went on a strike at the ports for eight days. Currently, the situation is that the Union will not strike but it is unknown if the situation will change in the next few weeks. Negotiations between the Union and the government are still ongoing, but signs are showing that both parties will come to an agreement. 

US Port congestion is ongoing but decreasing due to the decreased volumes from Asia.

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DACHSER offers an expedited LCL service from China to the U.S. West Coast, which is a reliable alternative for customers to avoid congestion issues. The weekly scheduled direct expedited LCL service reduces transit times by 3-7 days. Please do not hesitate to contact your local DACHSER sales team to get further information about the LCL service.

AMERICA

Port Congestion in North America
West coast

  • Los Angeles                   9 days waiting time to berth
  • Oakland                         8 days waiting time to berth
  • Tacoma                          waiting time insignificant
  • Seattle                            Situation fluid

 
East Coast

  • Boston                            Situation fluid
  • New York                       5 days waiting time to berth
  • Baltimore                       Situation fluid
  • Norfolk                           2 days waiting time to berth
  • Charleston                     Situation fluid
  • Savannah                       5 days waiting time to berth
  • Jacksonville                    Situation fluid
  • Miami                             Situation fluid
  • Mobile                            Situation fluid
  • Houston                         5 days waiting time to berth

Transatlantic
Currently, there is space available depending on the destination coast. But this is expected to tighten once cargo flows in Asia are picking up again. It is recommended to place bookings 2 to 3 weeks in advance. New York remains to be congested and delays at the NYC Ports are up to 10 days. Montreal is facing heavy delays as well and all transfer loads (to inland points) are affected combined with truck and rail shortages.

In general, most destination ports are volatile. The empty equipment situation in Northern Europe is still challenging across the region. The lack of 40-footers is a main issue.

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Click the button below to read the current development on the World Container Index and Shanghai Containerized Freight Index.

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